Caesarean Section and Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI) Outcome

August 24, 2023 updated by: Alexandria University

Effect of Prior Caesarean Delivery on ICSI Outcome

Although Caesarean section (CS) is often a necessary surgical intervention, it may also be associated with an increased risk of short- and long-term sequelae. It was thought that CS may increase the risk of female subfertility or even infertility. In assisted reproductive technology (ART) cycles, the process of implantation is believed to be the most important factor in determining pregnancy outcome. In view of conflicting results on the influence of a previous CS on outcomes of ART, this study will be conducted to investigate the impact of the mode of previous delivery on ICSI outcomes.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

The use of CS has steadily increased worldwide and will continue increasing over the current decade where both unmet need and overuse are expected to coexist. The medical field now acknowledges a patient's right to actively participate in her choice of medical treatments, including the method of delivery what is known as CS on demand, a primary CS performed on the mother's request without any recognized medical or obstetric Indications that may also increase the rate of C.S. Although CS is often a necessary surgical intervention, it may also be associated with an increased risk of short- and long-term sequelae eg. infection, haemorrhage and increased risk of several obstetric complications in subsequent pregnancies, including mal-placentation, Caesarean scar pregnancies, morbidly adherent placentae and uterine rupture. It was thought that CS may increase the risk of female subfertility or even infertility. The possible reasons for this impact on fertility may be related to infections, adhesions formation, placental bed disruption or other non-medical factors (age, culture, education). Different mechanisms were hypothesized to explain the detrimental uterine environment associated with the presence of CS niche, that may lead to subfertility including accumulation of intrauterine fluid, altered immunobiology, increased inflammation, distorted contractility of the uterus caused by fibrosis or interruption of the myometrial layer at the site of the niche. In ART cycles, the process of implantation is believed to be the most important factor in determining pregnancy outcome, because the embryos are directly transferred into the uterine cavity and so the tubal factor can be excluded. To date, knowledge on the influence of a previous CS on outcomes of ART is limited with different conclusions in terms of live birth, miscarriage and implantation rates. In view of these conflicting results, more adequately powered studies are warranted. Therefore, this study will be conducted to investigate the impact of the mode of previous delivery on ICSI outcomes.

Study Type

Observational

Enrollment (Actual)

140

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

      • Alexandria, Egypt, 21131
        • Alexandria University

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

20 years to 35 years (Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sampling Method

Probability Sample

Study Population

Women complaining of secondary infertility, whether delivered vaginally or by one previous C.S, who will undergo ICSI in the IVF private centers

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Patient age 20-35years.
  • BMI 18- 30.
  • Women with some indications for freeze all technique as patients with high risk for developing ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS), patients with treatable tubal or uterine anomalies that were discovered during controlled ovarian hyperstimulation (COH) or in patients with elevated serum progesterone levels

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Severe form of endometriosis.
  • Congenital uterine anomalies.
  • Scarred uterus due to previous myomectomy.
  • Women diagnosed with moderate to severe degrees of intrauterine adhesions.
  • Women with fibroid uteri.
  • Patients with bad quality embryos.
  • Untreated hydrosalpinges.
  • All fresh transfer cycles will be excluded.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort
Intervention / Treatment
Group A
Women with history of previous one Caesarean section
All women in both groups will receive oral estradiol valerate 8 mg/ day from the second day of the menstrual cycle. Endometrial thickness will be assessed by vaginal ultrasonography at the tenth day of treatment. When endometrial thickness reached ≥ 7 mm all subjects, in addition to estrogen, they will receive progesterone vaginal suppositories 400 mg twice daily and 100 mg of progesterone intramuscularly daily. Frozen thawed embryo transfer will be at day 6 of progesterone. Estrogen and progesterone will be continued until 9-10 weeks of gestation
Group B
Women with history of previous normal vaginal delivery.
All women in both groups will receive oral estradiol valerate 8 mg/ day from the second day of the menstrual cycle. Endometrial thickness will be assessed by vaginal ultrasonography at the tenth day of treatment. When endometrial thickness reached ≥ 7 mm all subjects, in addition to estrogen, they will receive progesterone vaginal suppositories 400 mg twice daily and 100 mg of progesterone intramuscularly daily. Frozen thawed embryo transfer will be at day 6 of progesterone. Estrogen and progesterone will be continued until 9-10 weeks of gestation

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Implantation rate
Time Frame: 4 weeks after embryo transfer
The ratio between the number of gestational sacs visualized by transvaginal ultrasound and the number of transferred embryos.
4 weeks after embryo transfer
Clinical pregnancy
Time Frame: 4 weeks after embryo transfer
Determined by the visualization of a viable embryo within the uterine cavity by ultrasound 4 weeks after embryo transfer. Clinical pregnancy rate will be calculated as the number of clinical pregnancies divided by the number of embryo transfer procedures.
4 weeks after embryo transfer

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Biochemical pregnancy
Time Frame: 11 days after embryo transfer
Positive pregnancy test 11 days after embryos transfer followed by abnormally rising or subsequently declining human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) levels along with the absence of a visualized gestational sac on a transvaginal ultrasound. The biochemical pregnancy rate is defined as the total number of biochemical pregnancies divided by the total number of positive pregnancy tests following an embryo transfer.
11 days after embryo transfer
Miscarriage rate
Time Frame: 18 week after embryo transfer
Calculated as the total number of pregnancies that failed to progress after visualization of an intrauterine gestational sac divided by the total number of clinically recognized intrauterine pregnancies.
18 week after embryo transfer
Ongoing pregnancy
Time Frame: 18 week after embryo transfer
Ratio between ongoing pregnancies proceeding beyond the 20th gestational weeks to the number of embryo transfer procedures
18 week after embryo transfer

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Mohammed AbdElmoety El Samra, phD, Alexandria University
  • Study Director: Mohammed Salah Abd Rabbo, PhD, Alexandria University

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

January 1, 2022

Primary Completion (Actual)

January 1, 2023

Study Completion (Actual)

March 15, 2023

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

September 1, 2022

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

September 1, 2022

First Posted (Actual)

September 6, 2022

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

August 28, 2023

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

August 24, 2023

Last Verified

August 1, 2022

More Information

Terms related to this study

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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