Using blastocyst re-expansion rate for deciding when to warm a new blastocyst for single vitrified-warmed blastocyst transfer.

RESEARCH QUESTION: Can predictive post-warm parameters that support the decision to transfer a warmed blastocyst or to warm another blastocyst be identified in women with multiple frozen-vitrified blastocysts? DESIGN: Retrospective single-centre observational cohort analysis. A total of 1092 single vitrified-warmed blastocyst transfers (SVBT) with known Gardner score, maternal age and live birth were used to develop live birth prediction models based on logistic regression, including post-warm re-expansion parameters. Time-lapse incubation was used for pre-vitrification and post-warm embryo culture. A dataset of 558 SVBT with the same inclusion criteria was used to validate the model, but with known clinical pregnancy outcome instead of live birth outcome. RESULTS: Three different logistic regression models were developed for predicting live birth based on post-warm blastocyst re-expansion. Different post-warm assessment times indicated that a 2-h post-warm culture period was optimal for live birth prediction (model 1). Adjusting for pre-vitrification Gardner score (model 2) and in combination with maternal age (model 3) further increased predictability (area under the curve [AUC] = 0.623, 0.633, 0.666, respectively). Model validation gave an AUC of 0.617, 0.609 and 0.624, respectively. The false negative rate and true negative rate for model 3 were 2.0 and 10.1 in the development dataset and 3.5 and 8.0 in the validation dataset. CONCLUSIONS: Clinical application of a simple model based on 2 h of post-warm re-expansion data, pre-vitrification Gardner score and maternal age can support a standardized approach for deciding if warming another blastocyst may increase the likelihood of live birth in SVBT.

Monochorionic twins after single blastocyst transfer: retrospective cohort and blinded time lapse annotation analysis.

RESEARCH QUESTION: Is it possible to identify monochorionic twin pregnancies before blastocyst transfer based on maternal or embryo characteristics registered by time lapse? DESIGN: A retrospective cohort study including women who received fertility treatment (n = 6501) between 2010 and 2019 at two fertility clinics in central Denmark. The treatment resulted in 2239 pregnancies after single embryo transfer (SET) and, of those, 43 (1.92%) were monochorionic twins. Baseline characteristics, information on assisted reproductive technology and ultrasonic findings at gestational week 8 were collected on all women. Furthermore, a blinded time lapse annotation analysis was conducted by two independent laboratory technicians on a total of 85 embryos. A total of 22 embryos leading to monochorionic pregnancies were matched with 63 embryos leading to singleton pregnancies. RESULTS: A monochorionic twin rate of 1.92% was found. No significant difference was found in maternal age, the use of intracytoplasmic sperm injection compared with IVF, indication for treatment or other maternal characteristics. In the blinded annotation analysis, inner cell mass grade A was associated with an increased risk of twinning (P = 0.04) in fresh embryos. The s3 division timing was found to be significantly shorter in fresh twin compared with singleton embryos (P = 0.006). No other time lapse parameters were found to be characteristic of twin embryos. CONCLUSION: To the best of our knowledge, this is the first blinded annotation study to identify aspects in time lapse resulting in monochorionic twins after SET. Whether inner cell mass grade A and s3 reflect a biological background for monochorionic twinning merits further investigation.

Assisted reproductive technologies and the risk of stillbirth in singleton pregnancies: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVE: To identify the risk of stillbirth from in vitro types of assisted reproductive technologies compared with spontaneous conception (SC), limited to singleton births. DESIGN: Systematic literature search and search chaining on online databases: PubMed, Embase, and Scopus. SETTING: Not applicable. PATIENT(S): Singleton pregnancies from in vitro fertilization (IVF) or fertilization by IVF and intracytoplasmic sperm injection (IVF-ICSI). INTERVENTION(S): Not applicable. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Adjusted odds ratio for stillbirth or prevalence of stillbirth in case-control groups of IVF/IVF-ICSI singletons and SCs, respectively, in matched studies. RESULT(S): A total of 19 studies were included, and study quality was mixed. Ten studies qualified for inclusion to the meta-analysis, which revealed a significantly increased risk of stillbirth in IVF/IVF-ICSI compared with that in SC (odds ratio [95% confidence interval]: 1.82 [1.37-2.42]), and there was no evidence of publication bias. CONCLUSION(S): In vitro fertilization and IVF-ICSI treatment increases the risk of stillbirth compared with natural conception. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: PROSPERO 216768.

[SMS reminders can reduce non-attendance at consultations].

Each year, thousands of patients fail to attend their consulta-tions. In January 2014, 89/955 (9.3%) planned consultations were misheld at the Dermatology Department of Bispebjerg Hospital, Denmark. A total of 209 patients were interviewed about SMS (short message service) reminders. 82% of re-spondents had a positive opinion of SMS reminders, however, reminders were only enrolled in 17.7% and awareness unknown in 33%. Reminders guaranteed attendance in 6.2%, otherwise forgotten, but the system has a significant untapped potential. It can be improved through automatic enrolment already when referring the patient.