THE IMPACT OF DIFFERENT TYPES OF ANESTHESIA ON IN-VITRO FERTILIZATION-EMBRYO TRANSFER TREATMENT OUTCOME

Objective: Our objective was to evaluate retrospectively the influence of different types of anesthesia on the outcome of ovum retrieval. Me thods: Sedation combined with local anesthesia was used on 120 occasio ns (Group I), epidural block in 139 ovum retrievals (Group II), and ge neral anesthesia in 173 cycles (Group III). Results: No differences we re found in embryo yield or number of the quality of the embryos trans ferred. Of 99 pregnancies achieved, 66 live deliveries were recorded. Significantly lower clinical pregnancy rates were found in Group III ( 14.5%) compared with Group II (23.7%; P = 0.018) or Group I (25.8%; P = 0.0074). Highly significant differences were found in the delivery r ates between Group III (8.7%), Group II (20.11%; P = 0.0017), and Grou p I (19.2%; P = 0.0043). Conclusion: The use of general anesthesia, es pecially nitrous oxide, for oocyte retrieval has an adverse effect on IVF outcome. This deleterious effect manifests itself only after embry o transfer and leads to lower pregnancy and delivery rates.