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The following is a summary of “Impact of a positive Chlamydia trachomatis serology on cumulative IVF live birth rate,” published in the February 2024 issue of Reproductive BioMedicine Online by Gadenne, et al.

If you test positive for Chlamydia trachomatis, does that change the number of live births that come from IVF? For a study, researchers sought to look back at a group of women who had IVF treatment between January 2016 and December 2021. They compared women with positive Chlamydia trachomatis serology (group A) to women with negative Chlamydia trachomatis serology (group B). The main ways to measure the results were the total live birth rate per IVF session and the live birth rate per embryo transfer. The rates of clinical pregnancy, ectopic pregnancy, and pregnancy loss over time were determined for each IVF session and each embryo transfer.

A group of 151 women was matched 1:2 with a group of 302 women, which equaled 220 and 440 IVF rounds, respectively. Women who had a history of Chlamydia trachomatis infection were much more likely to have a tubal block (P < 0.001), a hydrosalpinx that had to be operated on or removed (P = 0.002), or a history of chronic endometritis (P < 0.001). The mean number of viable eggs recovered, the rate of fertilization, and the rate of implantation were all the same between the two groups. 

Both groups had about the same number of live births after IVF cycles (36.7% in group A and 34.9% in group B, P = 0.692). Between the two groups, the total rates of clinical pregnancy, pregnancy loss, molecular pregnancy, and ectopic pregnancy were about the same. A positive Chlamydia trachomatis test did not affect the success of IVF.

Source: sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1472648323006855