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Nie Y, Qiao X, Li S, Pan Z, Zhang J, Xu L. Dichorionic quadruplet pregnancy comprising monozygotic triplets and singleton after intracytoplasmic sperm injection and transfer of two fresh embryos: a case report. J Int Med Res 2022; 50:3000605221075506. [PMID: 35118888 PMCID: PMC8819775 DOI: 10.1177/03000605221075506] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Monozygotic triplet pregnancies are very rare in assisted reproductive
technology, and the relationship between monozygotic multiple pregnancies and
several assisted reproductive techniques, including blastocyst transfer, remains
unclear. Here, the case of a 28-year-old female patient with dichorionic
quadruplet pregnancy following intracytoplasmic sperm injection and transfer of
two day-3 fresh embryos, without assisted hatching, is reported. At 7 weeks
following embryo transfer, the dichorionic quadruplet pregnancy, comprising
monozygotic monochorionic triamniotic (MCTA) triplets plus a singleton, was
detected by a transabdominal ultrasound scan. After counselling, the patient
underwent selective reduction of the MCTA triplet pregnancy at 7 weeks after
embryo transfer. The remaining singleton pregnancy was uneventful, resulting in
a live birth at 38+ weeks. As the predictors of monozygotic multiple
gestations remain poorly characterized, clinicians and patients should give
great consideration to the risks associated with monozygotic multiple
pregnancies, even if the patient has not undergone blastocyst transfer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ying Nie
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, West China Second University Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.,Reproductive Endocrinology and Regulation Laboratory, West China Second University Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.,The Joint Laboratory for Reproductive Medicine of Sichuan University-The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.,Key Laboratory of Birth Defects and Related Diseases of Women and Children, Sichuan University, Ministry of Education, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
| | - Xiaoyong Qiao
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, West China Second University Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.,Reproductive Endocrinology and Regulation Laboratory, West China Second University Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.,The Joint Laboratory for Reproductive Medicine of Sichuan University-The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.,Key Laboratory of Birth Defects and Related Diseases of Women and Children, Sichuan University, Ministry of Education, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
| | - Sicong Li
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, West China Second University Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.,Reproductive Endocrinology and Regulation Laboratory, West China Second University Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.,The Joint Laboratory for Reproductive Medicine of Sichuan University-The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.,Key Laboratory of Birth Defects and Related Diseases of Women and Children, Sichuan University, Ministry of Education, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
| | - Zhuo Pan
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, West China Second University Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.,Reproductive Endocrinology and Regulation Laboratory, West China Second University Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.,The Joint Laboratory for Reproductive Medicine of Sichuan University-The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.,Key Laboratory of Birth Defects and Related Diseases of Women and Children, Sichuan University, Ministry of Education, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
| | - Jing Zhang
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, West China Second University Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.,Reproductive Endocrinology and Regulation Laboratory, West China Second University Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.,The Joint Laboratory for Reproductive Medicine of Sichuan University-The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.,Key Laboratory of Birth Defects and Related Diseases of Women and Children, Sichuan University, Ministry of Education, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
| | - Liangzhi Xu
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, West China Second University Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.,Reproductive Endocrinology and Regulation Laboratory, West China Second University Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.,The Joint Laboratory for Reproductive Medicine of Sichuan University-The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.,Key Laboratory of Birth Defects and Related Diseases of Women and Children, Sichuan University, Ministry of Education, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
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Sundaram V, Ribeiro S, Noel M. Multi-chorionic pregnancies following single embryo transfer at the blastocyst stage: a case series and review of the literature. J Assist Reprod Genet 2018; 35:2109-2117. [PMID: 30362060 DOI: 10.1007/s10815-018-1329-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/25/2018] [Accepted: 10/02/2018] [Indexed: 10/28/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To report cases of in vitro fertilization-frozen embryo transfer (IVF-FET) with single blastocyst transfer resulting in di- or tri-chorionic pregnancies, and to review the literature on monozygotic, multi-chorionic pregnancies originating at the blastocyst stage. DESIGN Retrospective case series and literature review. MATERIALS AND METHODS All in vitro fertilization cycles (fresh, frozen, autologous, and donor oocyte) performed between June 2012 and June 2017 at the University of California, San Francisco Center for Reproductive Health, were reviewed retrospectively. Cycles with cleavage-stage embryos or transfer of more than one blastocyst were excluded. Cycles were analyzed to determine if clinical pregnancy occurred with the presence of two or more gestational sacs noted on initial ultrasound. An in-depth chart review was performed with further exclusions applied that would lend credence to dizygosity rather than monozygosity such as fetal/neonatal sex discordance, fresh embryo transfer, and natural cycle FET (in which concomitant spontaneous pregnancy could have occurred). Demographic, clinical and IVF-FET cycle characteristics of the resulting patients were collected. Additionally, a review of the English language literature was performed (PUBMED, PMC) using the search words monozygotic twins, dichorionic diamniotic, in vitro fertilization, and single embryo transfer in order to identify cases of DC-DA monozygotic twinning from 1978 to 2017. Resulting articles were reviewed to eliminate all cases of dizygosity and day 3 embryo transfers. We obtained the following data from the literature search: basic patient demographics, type of fertilization, type and day of embryo transferred, number of embryos transferred, gestational ultrasound details, presence of any genetic testing if performed after delivery, and number of live births. RESULT(S) Two thousand four hundred thirty-four women underwent fresh or frozen single embryo transfer between June 2012 and June 2017 at the University of California, San Francisco Center for Reproductive Health. Of these, 11 women underwent a single blastocyst transfer with subsequent clinical pregnancies identified as multi-chorionic gestations. Four were in downregulated controlled FET cycles, in which concomitant spontaneous pregnancy could not have been possible. We then reviewed all cases of monozygotic dichorionic-diamniotic (DC-DA) splitting in IVF patients reported in the literature from 1978 to 2017. These eight cases demonstrate monozygotic splitting after the blastocyst stage, which challenges the existing dogma that only monochorionic twins can develop after day 3 post-fertilization. CONCLUSION(S) The accepted theory of monozygotic twinning resulting from the splitting of an embryo per a strict post-fertilization timing protocol must be re-examined with the advent of observed multi-chorionic pregnancies resulting from single blastocyst transfer in the context of IVF.
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Affiliation(s)
- Viji Sundaram
- University of California, San Francisco, 499 Illinois St, San Francisco, CA, 94158, USA.
| | - Salustiano Ribeiro
- University of California, San Francisco, 499 Illinois St, San Francisco, CA, 94158, USA
| | - Martha Noel
- University of California, San Francisco, 499 Illinois St, San Francisco, CA, 94158, USA
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Morichika J, Iwatani C, Tsuchiya H, Nakamura S, Sankai T, Torii R. Triplet pregnancy in a cynomolgus monkey (Macaca fascicularis) after double embryo transfer. Comp Med 2012; 62:69-72. [PMID: 22330654 PMCID: PMC3276395] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2011] [Accepted: 09/22/2011] [Indexed: 05/31/2023]
Abstract
At our research center, cynomolgus monkeys (Macaca fascicularis) are bred by mating or intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) and embryo transfer. We typically transfer 2 embryos, because the pregnancy rate is better than that for single embryo transfer. In the case we present here, 2 embryos that had been frozen and thawed after ICSI were transplanted into a recipient female macaque, and a multiple pregnancy (3 fetuses) was confirmed. All 3 fetuses were miscarried between days 81 and 85 of pregnancy. One fetus, which was wrapped in the amnion, was expelled along with its own placenta and one other. Because the other placenta had 2 umbilical arteries, 2 fetuses may have shared it. Therefore, we believe this pregnancy was a case of triplets, including a set of twins from an embryo that divided after transfer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juri Morichika
- Research Center for Animal Life Science, Shiga University of Medical Science, Otsu, Shiga, Japan, and
| | - Chizuru Iwatani
- Research Center for Animal Life Science, Shiga University of Medical Science, Otsu, Shiga, Japan, and
| | - Hideaki Tsuchiya
- Research Center for Animal Life Science, Shiga University of Medical Science, Otsu, Shiga, Japan, and
| | - Shinichiro Nakamura
- Research Center for Animal Life Science, Shiga University of Medical Science, Otsu, Shiga, Japan, and
| | - Tadashi Sankai
- Research Center for Animal Life Science, Shiga University of Medical Science, Otsu, Shiga, Japan, and
- Tsukuba Primate Research Center, National Institute of Biomedical Innovation, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan
| | - Ryuzo Torii
- Research Center for Animal Life Science, Shiga University of Medical Science, Otsu, Shiga, Japan, and
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