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Treatment of Infertile Women with Unilateral Tubal Occlusion Diagnosed by Hysterosalpingography: The Role of Intrauterine Insemination

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Summary

The optimal assisted reproductive treatment strategy for infertile women with unilateral tubal obstruction remains uncertain. To investigate the role of intrauterine insemination (IUI) in the treatment of infertile women with unilateral tubal occlusion, the data of 148 couples were retrospectively collected and analyzed. Seventy-eight infertile women with unilateral occlusion diagnosed by hysterosalpingography (HSG) were categorized as the study group and 70 others with unexplained infertility as the control group. The study group was divided into a proximal occlusion subgroup and a mid-distal occlusion subgroup for further analysis. The main outcomes, namely the clinical pregnancy rate (CPR), ongoing pregnancy rate (OPR), and live birth rate (LBR) per cycle, were analyzed. Our results showed a tendency of lower CPR, OPR, and LBR in the study group than in the control group, without statistical significance. Further investigations revealed that the unilateral proximal occlusion subgroup had similar CPR, OPR, and LBR as the control group, while the unilateral mid-distal occlusion subgroup had significantly lower CPR (5.1% vs. 20.0%, P=0.035), OPR (5.1% vs. 20.0%, P=0.035), and LBR (5.1% vs. 20.0%, P=0.035) than the control group. In conclusion, the clinical outcomes of IUI were worse in patients with unilateral tubal occlusion than in those with unexplained infertility. This might be primarily caused by the worse outcome of patients with unilateral mid-distal tubal occlusion instead of proximal occlusion.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank Ms. Min-ling PENG and Mr. Miao WANG for the help in data collection.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Reproductive Center, Peking University Shenzhen Hospital, Shenzhen, 518036, China

    Yi-hua Lin, Jing-xin Ye, Ze-xuan Wu, Xi Xia & Wei-ping Qian

  2. Department of Ultrasound, Peking University Shenzhen Hospital, Shenzhen, 518036, China

    Yun Chen

Authors
  1. Yi-hua Lin
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  2. Jing-xin Ye
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  3. Ze-xuan Wu
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  4. Yun Chen
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  5. Xi Xia
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  6. Wei-ping Qian
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Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Xi Xia or Wei-ping Qian.

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The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest with any financial organization or corporation or individual that can inappropriately influence this work.

Additional information

This study was supported by grants from the Research Team of Female Reproductive Health and Fertility Preservation (No. SZSM201612065), and Project for Medical Discipline Advancement of Health and Family Planning Commission of Shenzhen Municipality (No. SZXJ2017003).

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Lin, Yh., Ye, Jx., Wu, Zx. et al. Treatment of Infertile Women with Unilateral Tubal Occlusion Diagnosed by Hysterosalpingography: The Role of Intrauterine Insemination. CURR MED SCI 40, 767–772 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11596-020-2242-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11596-020-2242-9

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