Comparable clinical outcomes of tubal embryo transfer for oligoastheno-teratozoospermia treated with intracytoplasmic sperm injection and for female infertility treated with in vitro fertilization.

BACKGROUND: Female and male indications may each have their negative impacts on the success of assisted reproductive technologies. Reports regarding the outcomes of in vitro fertilization (IVF) vs. intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) are controversial. This study was conducted to investigate whether the clinical outcome of tubal embryo transfer (TET) for oligoastheno teratozoospermia treated with ICSI is different from that of tubal embryo transfer for female infertility treated with IVF. METHODS: From January 1997 to December 1998, results of tubal embryo transfers of 54 IVF (IVF-TET) cycles for female infertility were retrospectively compared with those of 49 ICSI (ICSI-TET) cycles for oligoastheno-teratozoospermia. RESULTS: The fertilization rates were 78.1% +/- 21.8%, and 78.0% +/- 21.9% for treatments with IVF-TET and ICSI-TET, respectively. The implantation rates were 13.8% and 21.2%, respectively. The pregnancy rates per transfer were 46.2% and 48.9%, and the abortion rates were 14.8% and 12.2% for treatments with IVF-TET and ICSI-TET, respectively. The above rates for the IVF-TET and ICSI-TET groups were comparable. CONCLUSION: Male infertility due to oligoastheno teratozoospermia treated with ICSI-TET appears to have a comparable outcome to female infertility treated with IVF-TET.