PURPOSE We compared the cost-effectiveness of 4 treatment strategies for varicocele related infertility from the perspective of the health care payor and patient. MATERIALS AND METHODS Cost-effectiveness analysis was performed by studying 4 treatment strategies, namely observation, surgical varicocelectomy followed by in vitro fertilization (IVF) if unsuccessful, gonadotropin stimulated intra...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE The purpose of this study was to analyze the effect of intraventricular fibrinolysis (IVF) compared with external ventricular drainage alone on mortality and functional outcome in the management of intraventricular hemorrhage secondary to spontaneous supratentorial intracerebral hemorrhage. METHODS The authors conducted a systematic review and performed a meta-analysis....

OBJECTIVE To evaluate if in vitro fertilization (IVF) with embryo cryopreservation can be proposed to patients immediately after one or two regimens of chemotherapy. DESIGN Retrospective study. SETTING Academic research center and IVF unit. PATIENT(S) Eleven young patients diagnosed with cancer between September 1999 and April 2003 who wanted to preserve their fertility via IVF. INTERVE...

Traditionally, IVF success rates have been reported in terms of live birth per fresh cycle or embryo transfer. With the increasing use of embryo freezing and thawing it is essential that we report not only outcomes following fresh but also those after frozen embryo transfer as a complete measure of success of an IVF treatment. Most people agree that an individual's chance of having a baby follo...

OBJECTIVE This study was performed to assess the prognostic value of serum hCG, progesterone, and inhibin A levels measured at 11 days post-ET for predicting pregnancy outcome in women participating in IVF. METHODS Between May 2005 and April 2008, sera were obtained from 70 infertile women who underwent IVF-ET at 11 days post-ET and stored. HCG, progesterone, and inhibin A levels were measure...

Objective: To determine the effects of fasting of Ramadan in patients undergoing in-vitro fertilization (IVF)/intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) cycles. Design: A prospective cohort study conducted during Ramadan. Setting: Ain Shams University IVF centre. Population: Three hundred fasting, infertile women undergoing their first trial of IVF/ICSI and 300 non-fasting matched controls undergo...

BACKGROUND The influence of previous conservative surgery for endometriomas on IVF-ICSI outcome is debated. Conflicting information emerging from the literature may be consequent to the fact that endometriomas are mostly monolateral. The contralateral intact ovary may adequately supply for the reduced function of the affected one. To clarify this point, we assess IVF-ICSI outcome in women opera...

BACKGROUND A scoring system has been developed to determine preimplantation embryo quality, and used to select embryos for transfer into the uterus of patients. METHODS AND RESULTS The system was used to study early embryo development and to test whether these scores alone can accurately predict IVF outcome. Following zygote and embryo scores through early development, the data showed that a ...

BACKGROUND Cigarette smoking is widely believed to be associated with decreased fecundity in naturally conceiving populations; however, the effect of female smoking on pregnancy outcomes in patients undergoing IVF is unclear. METHODS A retrospective analysis of 389 consecutive patients undergoing first cycle IVF was performed. Outcomes of peak estradiol (E(2)) levels, log mean ovarian volume,...