D. Kiefer et al., EVIDENCE THAT OLIGOASTHENOZOOSPERMIA MAY BE AN ETIOLOGIC FACTOR FOR SPONTANEOUS-ABORTION AFTER IN-VITRO FERTILIZATION-EMBRYO TRANSFER, Fertility and sterility, 68(3), 1997, pp. 545-548
Objective: To evaluate whether oligoasthenozoospermia may lead to a hi
gher spontaneous abortion (SAB) rate once a pregnancy is established b
y IVF-ET. Design: Retrospective clinical observational study. Setting:
University-based IVF program. Patient(s): Three hundred sixty-four co
uples with normal semen parameters who underwent IVF-ET with conventio
nal sperm incubation; 70 couples with oligoasthenozoospermia but witho
ut marked abnormal sperm morphology (<4% normal forms using strict cri
teria) who underwent ET after IVF with conventional sperm incubation;
and 20 couples with oligoasthenozoospermia but without abnormal sperm
morphology who underwent ET after IVF with intracytoplasmic sperm inje
ction (ICSI). Main Outcome Measure(s): Implantation rate, clinical pre
gnancy rate, SAB rate, and delivery rate after IVF-ET. Result(s): Desp
ite similar pregnancy and implantation rates per ET, as a result of a
higher SAB rate (40.0% versus 11.7%), the delivery rates were lower in
the female partners of men with oligoasthenozoospermia. Similar patie
nts who used ICSI had a 0% SAB rate. Conclusion(s): Oligoasthenozoospe
rmia should be considered a possible risk factor for SAB in IVF achiev
ed pregnancies. Further studies are needed to determine whether ICSI r
educes the risk of SAB associated with oligoasthenozoospermia. (C) 199
7 by American Society for Reproductive Medicine.