Comparative Controlled Trial of Treatment of Minor Unexpected Uterine Cavity Abnormalities Diagnosed by Office Hysteroscopy Screening in Women Indicated for IVF

Introduction- Implantation failure after IVF may be due to endometrial function, embryo quality or a combination of both. The prevalence of minor intracavitary pathology in cases with an apparent normal transvaginal sonography (TVS) observed at hysteroscopy has been recorded to be 25-40%. Treatment of such pathology prior to initiating IVF/ICSI has been advocated without high-quality evidence.

Objective- To evaluate the impact of treating undetected, asymptomatic, predefined minor uterine cavity abnormalities on the success of IVF treatment.

Material & methods- Patients, indicated for their first IVF/ICSI treatment cycle at the UMC Utrecht and AZ-VUB Brussels, initially underwent TVS. In case of a normal TVS these patients were scheduled for hysteroscopy in the early-mid follicular phase of the cycle, one to three months before starting IVF/ICSI treatment. Vaginoscopic hysteroscopy was performed in an ambulatory office setting. During the hysteroscopy a biopsy was taken, to diagnose chronic endometrial inflammation. In case of finding a predefined intra uterine abnormality (polyp, myoma, adhesion, septum, endometrial inflammation) randomisation took place if prior to hysteroscopy informed consent had been obtained for endoscopy treatment versus no treatment. Shortly after the hysteroscopy, IVF/ICSI treatment was initiated and outcome during one year treatment period will be recorded.