[Influence of the depth of embryo transfer on pregnancy outcome in in vitro fertilization-embryo transfer].

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: To detect whether the depth of embryo transfer has influence on pregnancy outcome in in vitro fertilization-embryo transfer (IVF-ET). METHODS: The distance between the high echogenic transfer dot and the fundal endometrium was measured under guidance of transabdominal ultrasound. The average distance 0.75 cm was used to divide patients into two groups. Group 1 included 44 patients with a distance > 0.75 cm, while group 2 had 48 patients with a distance RESULTS: There were no significant differences in the average age (32 +/- 3 versus 31 +/- 4), the mean number of oocytes retrieved (14 +/- 7 versus 14 +/- 6), and the mean number of embryos transferred (2.3 +/- 0.6 versus 2.2 +/- 0.5) between groups 1 and 2. The distance to the fundal endometrium in group 2 was (0.50 +/- 0.21) cm, significantly smaller than that of group 1 (1.02 +/- 0.21) cm (P < 0.01). However, pregnancy rate was significantly higher (P < 0.05) in group 2 (58.3%, 28/48) than in group 1 (36.4%, 16/44). Although implantation rate in group 2 (33.0%, 35/106) was higher than group 1 (22.2%, 22/99), the difference was not significant. CONCLUSION: Pregnancy outcome may be affected by the depth of embryo transfer, and the fundal endometrium is a favorable region for embryo deposition.