Introduction
Numerous couples discontinue fertility treatment before achieving the objective, the birth of a child. The aim of this retrospective data analysis is to identify the reasons for early discontinuation of therapy (drop-out).
Materials and Methods
Retrospective data analysis. With the aid of the German IVF Registry (D·I·R
®
), a total of 122 560 “last cycles” in Germany in the period 2012 – 2015 were identified and the courses were analysed.
Results
From the named cohort of “last cycles”, 37.3% of the female patients (45 699) gave birth to a child and ended the therapy. The remaining 76 861 discontinued the treatment before having a child. The fertility treatment was conducted due to a purely male indication in 46.27% of cases and in 17.96% the cause lay exclusively with the woman. 4.53% of the drop-outs suffered a miscarriage in the last cycle. 73.56% of the drop-out patients ended the therapy after the lack of a positive pregnancy test. After the third therapy cycle, 67% of the couples ended their treatment.
Conclusion
The results make it possible to provide couples with individual counselling. They offer an option for preparing for the emotional and physical hurdles.
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