Successful rescue cerclage at advanced cervical dilatation in the second trimester

Cervical cerclage has been used in the management of cervical insufficiency for several decades, yet the indications are uncertain and benefits questionable. It remains a controversial intervention. We present a case of cervical incompetence in a 33-year-old Gravida 5 Para 0+4 woman who had an emergency cervical cerclage at 18 weeks gestation and subsequently delivered of a live male infant at 29 weeks gestation following preterm premature rupture of fetal membrane

Female factors infertility: Laparoscopic evaluation at a public health facility in Ilorin, Nigeria

Background: Infertility is a problem of global proportions, the majority being the residents of developing countries. The contribution of female factor is assuming a tremendous proportion. Laparoscopy remains an indispensable tool in the evaluation of the fertility potential of these female partners. Aims: This study was aimed at determining the various causes of female factor infertility among female partners of infertile couple in a tertiary health facility. Methods: A cross-sectional observational study of ninety seven (97) eligible infertile women who underwent diagnostic laparoscopy between 1st January 2012 and 31st December 2015 were enrolled for the study. The data were analyzed using SPSS/PC version 16.0 and p value was preset at <0.05. Results: The patients aged 21-50 years with a mean age of 33.2 ± 6.6 years. Majority (79.4%) were nulliparous. Fifty (51.5%) had primary infertility. Their duration of infertility ranged from 1to 33years (5.7 ± 5.5 years). Most (63.9%) belong to middle social class and their spouse age ranges between 28-60 years (39.0 ± 7.5). More than a quarter had clomiphene resistant Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, 19 (19.6%) tubal blockage, 13 (13.4%) uterine fibroid and 10 (10.3%) each had endometriosis, peritubal and ovarian adhesions, ovarian cyst and normal findings respectively. There was significant association between patients' age, intra-operative findings and tubal patency evaluation on laparoscopy (P < 0.05). Conclusion: Laparoscopic procedures are less invasive, more convenient and more precise for diagnosis of infertility in women. The common causes responsible for infertility were polycystic ovarian syndrome, tubal occlusion, uterine fibroid, endometriosis, peri-tubovarian adhesions and ovarian cyst

Assisted reproduction technology: Comparison of clinical outcomes between day 3 and day 5 embryo transfers

BACKGROUND: Embryo transfer (ET) is a critical step in in vitro fertilization (IVF). Selecting the day of transfer for achieving the desired outcomes has been a great challenge. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to compare the pregnancy rates of day 3 and day 5 ET in assisted conception. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This is a longitudinal prospective study of 122 eligible patients that underwent assisted reproduction program in our facility. All patients had controlled ovarian hyperstimulation using antagonist protocol. Patients with four or more zygotes were randomly allocated on day 1 to either day 3 or 5 transfers (58 vs. 64 patients). Fertilization was achieved through conventional IVF. Zygotes were kept in a single-step medium (Global total ®) for day 3 and 5 transfers, respectively. The morphologically best two or three embryos or blastocysts were chosen for transfer in both groups. RESULTS: The overall clinical pregnancy and live birth rates for both groups were 40.2% and 33.6%. There was no statistically significant difference between day 3 and day 5 transfer regarding clinical pregnancy rates (36.2% vs. 43.8% [P = 0.51]), live birth rates (27.6% vs. 9.1% [P = 1.0]), twinning rates (18.8% vs. 20% [P = 1.0]), and rates of early pregnancy loss (8.6% versus 4.7% P = [0.2]). CONCLUSION: In this study, the clinical outcomes of blastocyst transfer are similar to day 3 ET. This underscores the need for patient selection for the choice of days of ET. Further controlled randomized prospective studies with larger sample sizes are recommended