Objective: To analyze the in vivo development of embryos conceived after intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), as well as obstetric outcome, occurrence of chromosomal abnormalities, and rate of congenital malformations in neonates born as a result of this treatment.
Design: Retrospective study.
Setting: University-based in vitro fertilization (IVF) clinic.
Patients: A total of 751 couples in whom the male partners were presumed to be the cause of repeated failed IVF attempts or whose semen parameters were unacceptable for conventional IVF treatment.
Interventions: Analysis of pregnancies resulting from 987 ICSI cycles; pregnancy outcome data were obtained from the records of obstetrician-gynecologists and/or pediatricians.
Main outcome measures: Pregnancy rates, obstetric outcome, and frequency of chromosomal abnormalities and congenital malformations.
Results: The overall clinical pregnancy (fetal heartbeat) rate was 44.3%, with a resultant delivery rate per ICSI cycle of 38.7% (n=382). In 8 of 11 miscarriages for which cytogenetic data were available, an autosomal trisomy was found, and 7 additional pregnancies were terminated because of a chromosomal abnormality after prenatal diagnosis. There was an equal distribution of vaginal vs cesarean deliveries (n=192 and n=190, respectively). Of the 578 neonates resulting from treatment by ICSI, 15 (2.6%) presented with congenital abnormalities (9 major and 6 minor abnormalities). However, this frequency of malformations is lower than that observed in offspring born after standard IVF at our institution. Furthermore, when pregnancy outcome of ICSI vs IVF was analyzed in terms of semen origin, no differences were found in the frequency of miscarriages or in the rate of congenital malformations.
Conclusions: The evolution of pregnancies and occurrence of congenital malformations following treatment by ICSI were within the range observed with standard in vitro fertilization.