The impact of the depth of embryo replacement on IVF outcome.

Abstract Purpose: To evaluate the effect of the depth of embryo transfer replacement on clinical pregnancy rate. Methods: Data from a total of 104 consecutive embryo transfers performed on 104 womenn aged 26–37 years were prospectively collected for this study. All patients underwent a standard down regulation protocol for ovarian stimulation. Oocytes retrieval were performed at 36 h after hCG administration. Embryo transfer took place at 48 h after insemination. The patients were matched in two groups according to the distance between the tip of the catheter and the uterine fundus at transfer (group A > 10 < 15 mm and group B ≤ 10 mm). The same method of loading embryos into the embryo transfer catheter was used. Results: Clinical pregnancy rates varied significantly (p ≤ 0.05) between the two groups: 27.7% in group A and 14% in group B. The number and quality of embryos transferred did not differ between the groups. Conclusions: The results suggest that the depth of embryo replacement may be an important variable in embryo transfer technique.