THE USE OF FIBRIN SEALANT IN IN-VITRO FERTILIZATION AND EMBRYO-TRANSFER

Objective - To evaluate the role of fibrin sealant for embryo transfer (ET) and the effect of patient mobilization after ET on pregnancy rat es. Design - A prospective, randomized, controlled study. Methods - Tw o hundred eleven patients who were admitted to the IVF Unit over a per iod of 6 months participated in the study. Patients who had three or m ore embryos were randomly divided into two groups: group 1 (study grou p), in which ET was performed using fibrin sealant, and group 2, who s erved as the controls. Ovulation induction was carried out using the l ong GnRH-a suppression protocol. Results - Comparison of the results r egarding the implantation and pregnancy rates and ectopic pregnancy ra te revealed a nonsignificant difference between the two groups. Howeve r, analysis of the results according to the patients' age revealed a s ignificant increase in pregnancy (P < .05) and implantation (P < .01) rate in elderly patients (aged 39-42) using fibrin sealant for ET as c ompared with controls. Furthermore, we found that bed rest has no adva ntage over patient mobilization after ET Conclusion - The use of fibri n sealant for ET is advantageous in elderly women, but has no apparent effect on the success rate or ectopic pregnancy rate in younger patie nts. Immediate mobilization does not jeopardize the results of IVF-ET.