Recurrent implantation failure: which patients benefit from endometrial scratching prior to IVF?

Purpose Endometrial scratching (ES) using a biopsy catheter prior to the IVF cycle in the repeated implantation failure (RIF) population has been suggested, but no convincing evidence of its benefit has been presented until now. Methods A retrospective mono-center study among 300 consecutive IVF-RIF cycles following evaluation of the ovarian reserve, hysterosalpingography or hysteroscopy, pelvic ultrasound, thrombophilia evaluation, karyotyping and assessment of male sperm parametrs. The findings within normal limits. All the patients offered ES, 78 consented and underwent ES prior to their next IVF cycle. Results A comparison of treatment outcomes between the post-ES cycles ( n = 78) and the non-ES cycles (222) demonstrated the following: 34 (43.5%) versus 14 (6.3%) conceptions, respectively ( p = 0.001) and 30 (38.4%) versus 2 (0.9%) clinical pregnancies, respectively ( p