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In this prospective cohort study, the effects of a time-lapse monitoring system on embryo quality and clinical pregnancy outcomes were assessed. A total of 608 patients undergoing in vitro fertilization between April 2013 and June 2014 at our institution were recruited for this study and group-matched into a time-lapse monitoring (TLM) (N = 304) or a standard incubator (SI) (N = 304). The patients’ characteristics in the TLM and SI groups were not significantly different. The TLM group showed a significantly higher transferable embryo ratio at Day 3 (61.65% vs. 52.87%; p < 0.0010, RR =1.10 [1.02, 1.19]), a higher number of transferable embryos (4.71 ± 2.38 vs. 4.09 ± 2.35; p = 0.0053, SMD =0.26 [0.06, 0.46]) and number of good-quality embryos cryopreserved at Day 3 (2.72 ± 2.35 vs. 2.11 ± 2.33; p = 0.0056, SMD =0.26 [0.06, 0.46]). In addition, the implantation and clinical pregnancy rates were not statistically significant between the TLM and SI groups. However, the TLM group had a higher ongoing pregnancy rate (67.32% vs. 57.22%; p = 0.0410) and live birth rate (65.37% vs. 55%; p = 0.0380) compared with the SI group. The observed beneficial effects could be the result of a more stable environment provided by the TLM system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to determine the incidence of oocytes with severe ovoid zona pellucida (ZP), investigate the development potential of their sibling oocytes and the clinical outcomes from affected cycles. The data were collected from our medical records. Cycles having at least one oocyte with severe ovoid ZP were defined as the ‘severe ovoid group’, cycles having at least one oocyte with mild ovoid ZP were defined as the ‘mild ovoid group’, whereas cycles without oocytes with ovoid ZPs were defined as the ‘control group’ (n = 150 for each group). The results showed that sibling embryos in the ‘severe ovoid group’ were characterized by delayed development and lower available embryo rate. The implantation, clinical pregnancy and live birth rates in this group were also significantly lower than that in the other two groups. There were five cycles in which only one embryo with severe ovoid ZP was transferred and two healthy babies were born. The mild ovoid group showed comparable embryo development and clinical outcomes compared with the control group. This study suggests that cycles containing oocytes with severe ovoid ZPs had delayed embryo development, lower available embryo rate, compromised implantation, clinical pregnancy and live birth rates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]