Chronic endometritis impairs embryo implantation in patients with repeated implantation failure: A retrospective study

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To assess whether chronic endometritis (CE) affects embryo implantation in patients with repeated implantation failure (RIF). MATERIALS AND METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed 126 RIF patients who were never diagnosed with CE and received no prior antibiotic therapy. Endometrial specimens obtained by endometrial scratching during mid-luteal phase were immunostained by CD138, a hallmark plasmacyte marker, to identify CE. Pregnancy outcome in RIF patients who underwent IVF-ET frozen-embryo within transfers 6 months after endometrial scratching was compared between women with and without CE. RESULTS: The prevalence of CE in patients with RIF was found to be 11.9% (15/126). Moreover, a significantly reduced clinical pregnancy rate was observed in RIF patients with CE (20% vs. 46.85%; p = 0.04). The live birth rate also exhibited a decreasing trend in RIF patients with CE, although there was no statistically significant difference (20% vs. 41.58%; p = 0.109). CONCLUSIONS: CE may be involved in the failure of embryo implantation and reduced clinical pregnancy outcome in patients with RIF.