Improvement in pregnancy rate by removal of cervical discharge prior to embryo transfer in ICSI cycles: A randomised clinical trial

Abstract

Removal of cervical discharge prior to ET may have a significant effect on the rate of implantation, pregnancy and live birth.

Retracted: Cervical mucus removal prior to intrauterine insemination: a randomized trial

“…The role of the procedure was much more evident before embryo transfer during intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) cycles. Moini et al reported a clinical pregnancy rate of 39.2% in the intervention group compared with 22.6% in the control group ( P < 0.001; OR, 2.297; CI 95%, 1.552–3.399), while another two studies reported a similar increase in pregnancy rates when they removed the mucus by cytobrush followed by vigorous cervical canal irrigation. Eskander et al also found a 2.18‐fold increase in pregnancy rates with cervical mucus aspiration prior to embryo transfer.…”

Performing the embryo transfer: a guideline

“…A systematic review was unable to make a definitive conclusion on this topic, which was limited by the inclusion of an abstract that was never subsequently published and a study using the cytobrush (69). Therefore, data from the only well-designed RCT (N¼530) and a prospective, controlled cohort study (N¼286) were used for the recommendation (66,67). The RCT showed improved clinical pregnancy rate (39.2% study vs 22.6% controls, P< .001) and live-birth rate (33.6% study vs 17.4% controls, P< .001) with the removal of cervical mucus (66).…”

The Impact of Cervical Mucus, Blood, and Bacterial Contamination on the IVF Outcome

“…[17][18] Moreover, the diversity of the organisms that comprise the vaginal microbial community varies among women. [19] Since, the lower genital tract is naturally inhabited with vaginal flora, and pathogenic organisms, operative procedures through the genital tract may lead to moderate to high risk of infection.…”

“…[14,15] Although, Shrimali et al, suggested that the cervical mucus may trap the embryos, and facilitate their expulsion during catheter withdrawal. [16] Visschers et al, concluded that it is unlikely that removal of cervical mucus prior to embryo transfer has a significant effect on live birth rates [20] , and this study also concluded that the presence of blood and/or mucus in the embryo transfer catheters did not affect the clinical pregnancy rates.…”

“…[8,[10][11][12][13] In addition; many authors suggest that the cervical mucus may interfere with the correct placement of the embryos into the uterine cavity, and the cervical mucus aspiration increased the clinical pregnancy rate. [14][15][16] The retrieved oocytes incubated for 1 hour in global fertilization media, and denudation of the retrieved oocytes carried out chemically and mechanically before insemination. Postinsemination the oocytes incubated overnight in global total media, triple gas incubator and observed after 16-18 hours post insemination for fertilization.…”