Transvaginal ultrasound examination results predict the ultimate success of in vitro fertilization best when performed on the same day that human chorionic gonadotrophin is administered.
Transvaginal ultrasound examination results predict the ultimate success of in vitro fertilization best when performed on the same day that human chorionic gonadotrophin is administered.
Ultrasound is used throughout the course of fertility treatment to assess the reproductive condition, but results were most sensitive and specific from the same day the hormone dose was given.
Dr. Hervé Dechaud and colleagues in the department of reproductive medicine and biology at Arnaud de Villeneuve Hospital in Montpellier, France, studied 124 patients over nine months as the women underwent in vitro fertilization or intracytoplasmic sperm injection. In each exam, the researchers looked at endometrial thickness, endometrial pattern, uterine artery pulsatility index, protodiastolic notch, end-diastolic blood flow, and endometrial-subendometrial blood flow distribution pattern.
The researchers conducted multiple exams for each patient: one on the day HCG was administered, one on the day of oocyte retrieval, and one on the day of embryo transfer. They published their study in the March issue of Reproductive Biomedicine Online.
At the end of the study, the researchers used recursive-partitioning analysis to evaluate the results and found the rate of pregnancy per transfer was 33%, while the rate of implantation per transfer was 19.8%. They also found that women with certain signs - including end-diastolic blood flow, endometrial-subendometrial blood flow, and multilayered endometrium - had a higher chance of getting pregnant than those women without these signs on their exams.
A combination of signs was the most effective predictor of success. End-diastolic blood flow, endometrial pattern, and endometrial thickness had a positive predictive value of 68.2%, a negative predictive value of 89.7%, and a sensitivity and specificity of 81%.
The researchers also found that exams done on the day when HCG was administered were the most sensitive, at 81.1%, and the most specific, at 81.3%. They concluded that this was the optimal timing for using ultrasound to predict the outcome of fertility treatment.
The Reading Room: Racial and Ethnic Minorities, Cancer Screenings, and COVID-19
November 3rd 2020In this podcast episode, Dr. Shalom Kalnicki, from Montefiore and Albert Einstein College of Medicine, discusses the disparities minority patients face with cancer screenings and what can be done to increase access during the pandemic.
New Study Examines Agreement Between Radiologists and Referring Clinicians on Follow-Up Imaging
November 18th 2024Agreement on follow-up imaging was 41 percent more likely with recommendations by thoracic radiologists and 36 percent less likely on recommendations for follow-up nuclear imaging, according to new research.
Ultrasound Device Garners FDA De Novo Nod for Kidney Stone Clearance
November 14th 2024Emerging research demonstrated that the Stone Clear device, which facilitates post-lithotripsy clearance of kidney stone fragments, led to a 70 percent lower risk of relapse in comparison to observation in a control group.