Assisted reproductive technology outcomes in couples with hepatitis virus infection.

Introduction: Currently, many hepatitis positive infertile couples attend assisted reproductive technology (ART) program, so there is concern as this viral infection may be deleterious to human fertility. Some have suggested that hepatitis vims have an adverse effect on pregnancy outcomes. Materials and Methods: The study was conducted in two groups of patients: A) seropositive for hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) (n=46); and B) patients lacking these viruses as a control group (n=32). Patients included couples seeking ART from January 2010 to October 2014. ART cycle characteristics and clinical outcomes were assessed between two groups. Results: Demographic characteristics and age were similar between two groups. The mean±SD age was 30.19±5.54 and 34.31±6.86 years in female and male, respectively. Regarding to oocyte number and embryo score, there was no significant differences between groups A and B. The rate of pregnancy was, however, significantly higher in group B in comparison with A (p=0.03). Conclusion: Although, the data on embryo formation was similar in both groups of infertiles, but the pregnancy outcomes were noticeably reduced in infertile patients with hepatitis virus infections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]