OBJECTIVE: To determine if there is an association between first IVF cycle outcome and subsequent delivery rate for women over 40 years. DESIGN: Retrospective data analysis. SETTING: Large, private academically affiliated IVF center. INTERVENTION(S): Patients over 40 years of age undergoing IVF. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Delivery rate compared between patients with a pregnancy loss versus a negative beta-hCG in their first cycle. Additional factors including subsequent pregnancy losses, total number of IVF cycles, and delivery rates per cycle were also analyzed. RESULT(S): Among women who underwent their first IVF cycle over age 40, 8% of women had a pregnancy loss and 82% had a negative beta-hCG in their initial IVF cycle. In the pregnancy loss and negative beta-hCG groups, 17.9% and 21.9%, respectively, had a successful delivery in a future cycle. There were no further pregnancies leading to delivery after the fourth treatment cycle for the pregnancy loss group and the sixth treatment cycle for the negative beta-hCG group. The average number of cycles and the number of subsequent pregnancy losses were similar in both groups. CONCLUSION(S): Outcome of initial IVF cycle is not prognostic of future delivery for women over the age of 40 years.
OBJECTIVE: To determine if there is an association between first IVF cycle outcome and subsequent delivery rate for women over 40 years. DESIGN: Retrospective data analysis. SETTING: Large, private academically affiliated IVF center. INTERVENTION(S): Patients over 40 years of age undergoing IVF. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Delivery rate compared between patients with a pregnancy loss versus a negative beta-hCG in their first cycle. Additional factors including subsequent pregnancy losses, total number of IVF cycles, and delivery rates per cycle were also analyzed. RESULT(S): Among women who underwent their first IVF cycle over age 40, 8% of women had a pregnancy loss and 82% had a negative beta-hCG in their initial IVF cycle. In the pregnancy loss and negative beta-hCG groups, 17.9% and 21.9%, respectively, had a successful delivery in a future cycle. There were no further pregnancies leading to delivery after the fourth treatment cycle for the pregnancy loss group and the sixth treatment cycle for the negative beta-hCG group. The average number of cycles and the number of subsequent pregnancy losses were similar in both groups. CONCLUSION(S): Outcome of initial IVF cycle is not prognostic of future delivery for women over the age of 40 years.