Comparison of biochemical and clinical pregnancy rate and first outcomes with or without non-invasive preimplantation genetic testing for aneuploidies: a retrospective cohort study.

Abstract

Evaluation of embryos’ genetic status is an increasingly widespread practice in assisted reproduction clinics. The existence of limitations with PGT-A, such as the invasive nature of the biopsy procedure and the need for the technical ability of embryologists, added with the knowledge that a determinate number of cells in trophectoderm might not be representative of the entire embryo genetics, is leading to increase the use of non-invasive PGT-A (niPGT-A) using spent cultured medium (SMCs) by embryos analyzed. This retrospective cohort study from May 2022 to August 2023 analyzed first experiences with niPGT-A, setting characteristics of patients—first, results obtained comparing pregnancy outcomes with frozen embryo transfer (FET) without niPGT-A. A total of 56 SCMs were collected. The average age of women in the study was 37.4±4.2 in the niPGT-A group and 36.0±5.9 in the FET group (p= 0.2953). The main reasons why couples decided to undergo niPGT-A were women’s age (46.7%), male factor (20.0%), and RIF (16.7%). No significant differences were seen between niPGT-A (n=14) and elective FET (n=18) groups in terms of biochemical pregnancy rate (35.7% vs 38.8%; p=0.4298) and clinical pregnancy rate (35.7% vs 33.3% p=0.4462) (CI 95%). Based on the results obtained, niPGT-A is an excellent alternative to assess the chromosomal status of cultured embryos. Comparing groups, no significant differences were found in biochemical and clinical pregnancy rates. A small number of samples represent a limitation; large-scale randomized studies will be necessary.