Endometrial microvessel density for assessing endometrial receptivity during the peri-implantation period

• Published in: Nan fang yi ke da xue xue bao = Journal of Southern Medical University Vol. 31; no. 8; p. 1365
• Main Authors: Li, Qiu-hua, Yu, Min, Chen, Lei-ning, Li, Hong, Luo, Chen, Chen, Si-mei, Quan, Song
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Chinese
• Published: China 01.08.2011
• Subjects: Adult; Embryo Implantation - physiology; Embryo Transfer; Endometrium - blood supply; Endometrium - physiology; Female; Fertilization in Vitro; Humans; Infertility, Female - diagnostic imaging; Infertility, Female - physiopathology; Infertility, Female - therapy; Microvessels - ultrastructure; Retrospective Studies; Ultrasonography
• ISSN: 1673-4254

To evaluate the value of endometrial microvessel density (MVD) in assessing the endometrial receptivity during the peri-implantation period. A total of 104 patients undergoing in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer (IVF-ET) treatment were analyzed retrospectively. The subjects were divided into clinical pregnancy group (50 cases) and nonpregnant group (54 cases) according to the IVF-ET outcome. Endometrial tissues were collected 7 days after the natural ovulation prior to IVF-ET for measurement of the endometrial MVD using electron microscopy, which was analyzed in relation to the clinical outcome of the treatment. The endometrial MVD was significantly higher in the clinical pregnancy group than in the nonpregnant group [(4.12∓1.84)% vs (3.46∓1.26)%, t=-2.127, P=0.036). ROC curve analysis showed that the MVD had an area under the curve slightly over 0.5 (0.598) for predicting clinical pregnancy, suggesting a poor specificity in predicting the clinical outcome of the treatment. In IVF-ET cycles, the endome