Abstract
Purpose: To elucidate the appropriateness of current indications for assisted hatching (AH) in cleavage stage human embryos and to confirm our preliminary findings that only young patients (about 67%) benefit from AH.
Methods: Prior to transfer, 2 of 3 embryos selected for ET were subjected to laser assisted hatching (LAH). Control group consisted of patients matched by similar characteristics and protocol except LAH was not performed.
Results: The clinical pregnancy rate in women ≤36 years was 64.9% (24/37) for embryos subjected to LAH but was significantly lower (p = 0.029) in the control (33.3%; 10/30). The implantation rate in women ≤36 years in the test group was 38.1% (40/105) that was significantly higher than that of the control group (17.5%, 14/80; p = 0.0039).
Conclusions: LAH is beneficial for women ≤36 years but not for women ≤37 years, for embryos with thin zonae (≤16μ) but not with thick zonae (≥17μ), and for those with repeated failures (37–50%).
Keywords: Assisted, hatching, increased, laser, pregnancies
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