Methods of insemination for couples with unexplained infertility undergoing in vitro fertilization

Objective To analyze the outcome of conventional IVF and ICSI in sibling oocytes in patients diagnosed with unexplained infertility and to determine an optimal insemination technique.Methods In 35 couples with unexplained infertility undergoing IVF between Jun 2004 to Dec 2005 in Peking University Third Hospital,sibling oocytes were randomized into conventional IVF or ICSI insemination.Fertilization rate and embryo quality were compared between IVF- and ICSI-inseminated oocytes.Result A significantly better fertilization rate was obtained after ICSI as compared with conventional IVF(61.3% versus 51.2%)(P 0.05),and total fertilization failure following ICSI and IVF treatment was seen in 2.8% and 20.0% of the cycles respectively(P 0.05).There was no statistically significant difference in embryo quality,pregnancy rate and implantation rate between the IVF and ICSI groups.Conclusion In the first IVF cycle of couples with unexplained infertility,splitting the sibling oocytes by IVF and by ICSI can effectively minimize complete fertilization failure.