The prognostic value of successful in-vitro fertilization in subsequent trials.

A retrospective study comparing in-vitro fertilization (IVF) results in patients with previous successful trials versus new IVF patients was designed with the objective of evaluating the prognosis in both groups. Patients were divided into two groups: group A, 22 patients with previous conception in IVF trials; and group B, 235 new IVF patients. All patients had tubal factor as the only cause of infertility and were stimulated by a standard protocol of gonadotrophin-releasing hormone agonist and human menopausal gonadotrophin. The pregnancy rate in group A (64%) was significantly higher than in group B (19%). In group A, 77% of the patients had three or more grade 1 embryos per transfer as compared with 16% in group B. In group A, 95.5% of patients had easy embryo transfer as compared with 61.2% in group B. The results of the study demonstrated that patients with previous IVF pregnancies have a significantly higher pregnancy rate compared with the control group. The improved pregnancy rate is due to the higher quality of embryos and the higher percentage of easy embryo transfers.