Associations between embryo grading and congenital malformations in IVF/ICSI pregnancies.

RESEARCH QUESTION: Does the quality of transferred embryos have an impact on the rate of congenital malformations in IVF/intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI)-conceived babies? DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study involving 6637 pregnancies of ≥20 weeks' gestation from women undergoing embryo transfer with a single Day 5 embryo at a private multisite IVF clinic between 2005 and 2015. Embryos were classified as good quality (n = 5537) or poor quality (n = 1100) based on an internal grading system of morphological parameters; malformation rates were compared. RESULTS: In pregnancies proceeding to delivery (≥20 weeks' gestation), poor quality embryos were associated with increased odds of at least one anomaly (adjusted odds ratio [OR] 1.33, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.03-1.71), major anomalies (adjusted OR 1.42, 95% CI 1.05-1.91), musculoskeletal anomalies (adjusted OR 2.09, 95% CI 1.35-3.22), particularly talipes (adjusted OR 2.88, 95% CI 1.33-6.25), and the International Classification of Diseases (ICD) classification 'Other congenital malformations' (adjusted OR 2.34, 95% CI 1.13-4.34). Furthermore, for pregnancies ≥9 weeks' gestation, poor embryos had more than double the odds of chromosomal anomalies than good embryos (adjusted OR 2.33, 95% CI 1.30-4.18, P = 0.005). CONCLUSIONS: This is the first study to compare the rates of individual congenital malformations for good and poor quality embryos. It provides insight into potential risks of transferring poor quality embryos. In pregnancies ≥20 weeks' gestation, poor quality Day 5 embryos are associated with major malformations, at least one anomaly, musculoskeletal anomalies, talipes and the ICD classification 'Other congenital malformations'. In pregnancies ≥9 weeks' gestation, poor quality Day 5 embryos are associated with chromosomal anomalies.

Estimating the intra-cluster correlation coefficient for evaluating an educational intervention program to improve rabies awareness and dog bite prevention among children in Sikkim, India: A pilot study.

BACKGROUND: Educational initiatives targeting at-risk populations have long been recognized as a mainstay of ongoing rabies control efforts. Cluster-based studies are often utilized to assess levels of knowledge, attitudes and practices of a population in response to education campaigns. The design of cluster-based studies requires estimates of intra-cluster correlation coefficients obtained from previous studies. This study estimates the school-level intra-cluster correlation coefficient (ICC) for rabies knowledge change following an educational intervention program. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was conducted with 226 students from 7 schools in Sikkim, India, using cluster sampling. In order to assess knowledge uptake, rabies education sessions with pre- and post-session questionnaires were administered. Paired differences of proportions were estimated for questions answered correctly. A mixed effects logistic regression model was developed to estimate school-level and student-level ICCs and to test for associations between gender, age, school location and educational level. RESULTS: The school- and student-level ICCs for rabies knowledge and awareness were 0.04 (95% CI: 0.01, 0.19) and 0.05 (95% CI: 0.2, 0.09), respectively. These ICCs suggest design effect multipliers of 5.45 schools and 1.05 students per school, will be required when estimating sample sizes and designing future cluster randomized trials. There was a good baseline level of rabies knowledge (mean pre-session score 71%), however, key knowledge gaps were identified in understanding appropriate behavior around scared dogs, potential sources of rabies and how to correctly order post rabies exposure precaution steps. After adjusting for the effect of gender, age, school location and education level, school and individual post-session test scores improved by 19%, with similar performance amongst boys and girls attending schools in urban and rural regions. The proportion of participants that were able to correctly order post-exposure precautionary steps following educational intervention increased by 87%. CONCLUSION: The ICC estimates presented in this study will aid in designing cluster-based studies evaluating educational interventions as part of disease control programs. This study demonstrates the likely benefits of educational intervention incorporating bite prevention and rabies education.