ABSTRACT
Assisted reproductive technology (ART) in small island states like Trinidad and Tobago is usually provided in batches so as to minimize the cost of providing the service. As a result, patients 'cycles have to be synchronized in order to coincide with the arrival of a visiting embryologist. This is a retrospective study which evaluates the experience of pre-treatment with an oral contraceptive pill (OCP) as a means of batching cycles for an intermittent ART programme. Seventy-four in vitro fertilization (IVF) and intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) cycles in which OCP usage was employed (Group A), were compared with 121 cycles which did not require pharmaceutical manipulation (Group B). In both groups more than 50 of women were older than 36-years. Two cycles were cancelled in Group A and seven in Group B, because of poor ovarian response. Although the pregnancy rate per treatment cycle was higher in Group A than in Group B (26.3 vs 17.3), this difference was not significant. More spontaneous miscarriages occurred in the non-OCP women and ovarian cyst formation was more common in these women. The authors experience indicates that the OCP is a simple, cheap and efficient means of batching patients for an intermittent ART programme and can be utilized in other small ART centres
La tecnología de reproducción asistida (TRA) en los pequeños estados insulares como Trinidad y Tobago, usualmente se ofrece por tandas a fin de minimizar los costos del servicio brindado. En consecuencia, los ciclos de las pacientes tienen que ser sincronizados de modo que coincidan con la visita del embriólogo. Éste es un estudio retrospectivo que evalúa la experiencia del pretratamiento con píldoras anticonceptivas orales (PAO) como medio de agrupar los ciclos con el propósito de organizar un programa intermitente de TRA. Setenta y cuatro ciclos de fertilización in vitro (FIV) e inyección intracitoplasmática de esperma (ICSI) en los que se recurrió al uso de PAO (Grupo A), fueron comparados con 121 ciclos que no requirieron manipulación farmacéutica (Grupo B). En ambos grupos, > 50% de las mujeres tenían más de 36 años de edad. Dos ciclos fueron cancelados en el grupo A y siete en el grupo B, debido a una respuesta ovárica pobre. Aunque la tasa de embarazo por ciclo de tratamiento fue más alta en el grupo A que en el grupo B (26.3% vs. 17.3%), esta diferencia no fue significativa. El número de abortos espontáneos fue mayor y la formación de quistes ováricos más común, en las mujeres que tomaron PAO. La experiencia de los autores indica que la PAO es un medio simple, económico y eficaz de agrupar a los pacientes en un programa intermitente de TRA, y puede utilizarse en otros centros pequeños de TRA.
Subject(s)
Humans , Female , Pregnancy , Adult , Contraceptives, Oral/pharmacology , Menstrual Cycle/drug effects , Fertilization in Vitro/methods , Infertility/drug therapy , Program Evaluation , Menstrual Cycle/physiology , Retrospective Studies , Incidence , Infertility/epidemiology , Follow-Up Studies , Trinidad and Tobago/epidemiologyABSTRACT
To establish if BTV was circulating in Argentina, 94 bovines from the Santo TomÚ and Ituzaingó Departments of Corrientes Province were sampled every 30-60 days during 14 months. Red blood cells from those animals that showed seroconvertion with a c-ELISA were processed for virus isolation by inoculation in embryonated chicken eggs and cell cultures. Cells with CPE were positive by direct and indirect immunofluorescence with BTV specific reagents. These samples examined by electron microscopy showed virus particles with BTV morphological characteristics. Blood samples and tissue culture supernantants were positive by RT-PCR technique with primers corresponding to the segment 3 of the BTV genome. Haematophagous insects were captured in one farm using light traps and Culicoides insignis Lutz was the predominant species detected. This is the first isolation of BTV in Argentina from northeastern bovines without any disease symptom.
Subject(s)
Animals , Cattle , Bluetongue , Ceratopogonidae , Cattle Diseases/virology , Insect Vectors , Bluetongue virus/isolation & purification , Antibodies, Viral , Argentina , Bluetongue , Cells, Cultured/virology , Chickens , Cattle Diseases/epidemiology , Cattle Diseases/transmission , Eggs , Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay , Genome, Viral , RNA, Viral , Seasons , Bluetongue virus/genetics , Bluetongue virus/immunology , Virus CultivationABSTRACT
This audit documents the first experience with in-vitro Fertilization technology in the English-speaking Caribbean. From 1996 to 2000, 121 cycles have been performed in 99 couples utilizing these techniques. After ovarian stimulation, 1,103 oocytes were retrieved (average 9.1) and of these, 65 fertilized normally, with embryo transfer possible in 111 cycles. Twenty-one pregnancies were recorded (21.2 per patient and 18.9 per embryo transfer) and the live birth rate per patient was 12.1. The trend was for the success rate to be better in patients under age 36 years.