Optimal Timing for Oocyte Denudation and Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection

Abstract EN

|Objectives.

To analyze the impact of oocyte denudation and microinjection timings on intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) outcomes.

Study Design.

We included ICSI cycles with the following parameters: rank 1 or 2, female age <36 years, male factor infertility, long protocol using GnRH agonist and rFSH for ovarian stimulation, and use of freshly ejaculated sperm (n=110).

Several ICSI parameters were analyzed according to the time between oocyte retrieval and denudation (T1) and the time between denudation and ICSI (T2) using a statistical logistic regression analysis.

Results.

Neither T1 nor T2 had a significant influence on the Metaphase II (MII) rate but the fertilisation rate (FR) showed a significant improvement when T1 was longer (optimal results at T1=3 hours) while FR significantly decreased with the increase of T2.

Optimal implantation (IR) and pregnancy (PR) rates were obtained when T1 was around 2 hours.

Conclusion.

Incubation of oocytes around 2 hours between retrieval and denudation may not increase MII rate but appears to lead to the optimal combination of FR and IR.