ICSI - Intracytoplasmic sperm injection- does not increase miscarriage risk

A study out of Italy published in the December issue of Fertility and Sterility compared the rate of pregnancy loss - miscarriage - bewtween patients who underwent standard in vitro fertilization - IVF and those who had intracytoplasmic sperm injection - ICSI .

The study looked at the number of fetuses identified on ultrasound in the second trimester compared to the number identified in the early first trimester.

The conclusion was that intracytoplasmic sperm injection - ICSI does not increase the risk that a pregnancy will miscarry.

I think this adds to the growing body of evidence that intracytoplasmic sperm injection - ICSI is as safe as in vitro fertilization - IVF . However, the design of the study does not allow us to determine whether very early miscarriages (those that might occur before a pregnancy can be seen on ultrasound) occur at the same rate. These are referred to as chemical pregnancies and are identified by a positive blood or urine pregnancy test.