Plasma concentrations of D-dimer and outcome of in vitro fertilization

BACKGROUND: The activation of blood coagulation could contribute to the failure of in-vitro fertilization (IVF) techniques. The aim of this study was to assess the predictive value of D-dimer levels for pregnancy outcome in women undergoing IVF. FINDINGS: A prospective study was performed in 105 women undergoing IVF. D-dimer was measured before and one week after the administration of recombinant human chorionic gonadotropin (r-hCG). The primary outcome of the study was clinical pregnancy. The mean age was 36 years (range 26 to 43 years). The main indications for IVF were infertility due to a tubaric (n = 21, 20%) or male factor (n = 37, 35%) and idiopathic infertility (n = 30, 29%) which altogether accounted for 84% of the total. Clinical pregnancy was achieved by 40/105 (38%) women of whom 32 (80%) delivered a live child. On the day of r-hCG administration, D-dimer concentrations were significantly higher in patients not achieving a clinical pregnancy (141 ng/dL vs. 115 ng/dL, p = 0.035) which remained statistically significant after correction for age and indications for IVF in multivariable analysis (p = 0.032). One week after r-hCG, the levels of D-dimer were significantly increased both in women with and without a clinical pregnancy with no differences between the groups (748 ng/dL vs. 767 ng/dL, p = 0.88). CONCLUSIONS: D-dimer concentrations seem to predict a higher risk of pregnancy failure in women undergoing IVF. If confirmed in future prospective studies, D-dimer could help identifying a group of patients who could benefit from prophylaxis to increase the pregnancy success rate.