Retrospective evaluation of pregnancy outcomes and clinical implications of 34 Han Chinese women with unicornuate uterus who received IVF-ET or ICSI-ET treatment

Abstract

This retrospective study aimed to evaluate pregnancy outcome and newborn health condition for a specific group of infertile patients with unicornuate uterus. A total of 34 patients were confirmed to have unicornuate uterus. These patients received 47 cycles of in vitro fertilisation-embryo transfer (IVF-ET) or intracytoplasmic sperm injection-embryo transfer (ICSI-ET), achieved 21 clinical pregnancies with a clinical pregnancy rate of 60.61%. Full-term delivery rate was 76.47%. Eleven patients gave birth to single neonates, while six patients gave birth to twins. Foetal growth restriction was detected in three foetuses in twins. Obstetric complications were reported in three patients with single foetus (27.27%, 3/11), and four out of six patients with twin pregnancies (66.67%, 4/6). This study demonstrated that Han Chinese women with unicornuate uterus have a good chance to conceive and deliver healthy neonates despite increased risk of complications.

Impact statement

• What is already known on this subject: Unicornuate uterus is a rare form of malformation affecting about 1% of infertile patients. Patients with unicornuate uterus have a lower chance of conceiving. It has been reported that assisted reproduction such as in vitro fertilisation-embryo transfer (IVF-ET) was less likely to be successful in patients with unicornuate uterus.

• What do the results of this study add: Retrospective study of 34 cases of Han Chinese women with unicornuate uterus offered a new perspective. Half of these 34 patients conceived and delivered 23 neonates (11 singletons and 6 pairs of twins). Complications were more frequent but manageable.

• What are the implications of these findings for clinical practice and/or further research: Our data will serve as a valuable tool for counselling infertile patients with unicornuate uterus with regard to their expected pregnancy outcomes.

Keywords:

• Unicornuate uterus
• pregnancy outcome
• assisted reproduction
• IVF-ET
• complications

Disclosure statement

The authors declared no conflict of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the manuscript.