The impact of coronavirus disease 2019 on frozen-thawed embryo transfer outcomes

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has raised concerns about its potential effects on human fertility, particularly among individuals undergoing assisted reproductive therapy (ART). However, the impact of COVID-19 on female reproductive and assisted reproductive outcomes is unclear. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the effects of COVID-19 on pregnancy outcomes during frozen-thawed embryo transfer (FET) cycles. This retrospective cohort study included 327 enrolled patients who underwent FET cycles at a single reproductive centre. The study group consisted of patients treated between 1 January 2023 and 31 March 2023 who recently recovered from COVID-19. The embryos for transfer were generated prior to COVID-19 infection. The control group consisted of patients treated between 1 January 2021 and 31 March 2021 who were not infected and did not receive a severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) vaccine. Demographic and cycle characteristics and outcomes were compared. A total of 160 recovered women and 167 controls were included. The primary outcome-the live birth rate-was similar between the two groups (43.8% 43.1%, > 0.05). The secondary outcomes, such as the implantation rates (41.2% 39.3%), biochemical pregnancy rates (56.3% 56.3%), clinical pregnancy rates (52.5% 52.1%), early abortion rates (8.3% 12.6%) and ongoing pregnancy rates (46.9% 44.3%), were also similar (