Oocyte morphology correlates with embryo quality and pregnancy rate after intracytoplasmic sperm injection

Objective: To evaluate the relation of oocyte morphology with embryo quality and pregnancy rates (PRs) after intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). Design: Retrospective study of patients undergoing ICSI. Setting: University Hospital IVF Center. Patient(s): Sixty-eight patients who underwent ICSI and had transfer of good-quality embryos (grade 3), 60 patients with transfer of both good- and poor-quality embryos (grade 3 and grade 2), and 18 patients with transfer of poor-quality embryos (grade 2). Intervention(s): Comparison of the outcome of ICSI in the three groups of patients and the relation of oocyte morphology to embryo quality. Main Outcome Measure(s): Oocyte morphology and embryo quality (grade). Fertilization, cleavage, and pregnancy rates. Serum E-2 on the day of hCG administration. Result(s): Oocytes with poor morphology (dark cytoplasm; many vacuoles or fragments in cytoplasm) led to poor-quality embryos and consequently to lower PRs (5.5% versus 29.4%). Serum E-2 on the day of hCG administration was significantly higher in the group with good-quality embryos compared with that with poor-quality embryos (2,047 +/- 135.7 versus 1,651 +/- 164.8 pg/mL, respectively). Conclusion(s): Serum E-2 on the day of hCG administration is a marker of embryo quality. Oocyte morphology correlates well with embryo quality and PRs after ICSI. (C) 1999 by American Society for Reproductive Medicine.