An Observational Study of IVF Outcomes with The Inference of Bacterial Vaginosis (BV) Infection
Authors: Harjeet Kaur  , Naresh Kumar  , Ram Dayal  , Asmita Mahla Bhambri  
Published: June 2023

Objective: The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of bacterial vaginosis on females who are undergoing IVF treatment. Background: It is a fascinating process that enables infertile couples who are having difficulty conceiving naturally to achieve pregnancy through ART. The most common procedure in ART is IVF, where embryo transfer is one of the crucial steps in achieving a successful pregnancy. IVF is a complex series of procedures used to enhance fertility, address genetic problems, and aid in the conception of a child. During IVF, mature eggs are retrieved from the ovaries and fertilized with sperm, and further culture the embryos in an IVF laboratory. In assisted reproduction, embryos are transferred into a female's uterus in order to establish a pregnancy. It should be noted that there is still a wide range of indications and associated risks that affect embryo transfer procedures. Bacterial infection is one of the most common complications. Infection due to bacteria in the vagina known as bacterial vaginosis occurs when some normal microflora grows too large, resulting in bacterial imbalances. Symptoms include off-white or grey vaginal discharge that smells fishy. Increasing evidence suggests that bacterial vaginosis may not only cause disease in the lower genital tract. In-vitro fertilization (IVF) patients were examined for potential associations with infertility and effects on fertilization and implantation. Methodology: A total of 135 infertile couples were counseled for this study, however only 100 agreed to participate. In this observational study, we examined the effect of bacterial infection on IVF outcomes among infertile females (n=100) receiving IVF treatment at Aashakiran IVF, Kharar, Punjab, between July 2020 to December 2022. Informed consent was obtained from all patients prior to the procedure. For all females in this study, unexplained categories of patients were enrolled who had normal tubal patency, regular ovulation, and no male factors. A swab sample (n=100) was taken from the patient before embryo transfer. There are still many indications and associated risks that affect the embryo transfer procedure. The sample was cultured on a blood agar plate and isolated from the sample for up to 48 hours. They first checked after 24 hours, if the growth was not present then incubated for up to 48 hours. Then we compared their IVF outcomes in the samples in which we found bacterial growth. Result: 34 samples with bacterial growth showed 15(44.11%) patients get positive IVF results and 19 (55.88%) patients get negative IVF results. Whereas overall 66 samples without any bacterial growth showed 32 (48.48%) positive IVF results and 34 (51.51%) negative IVF outcomes out of 100 patients. The difference in IVF outcome between bacterial growth and no growth of BV is 4.37% only. Thus, this study does not support the hypothesis that BV adversely affects embryo implantation and outcome. Conclusion: The present study concluded that somewhere BV affects IVF outcomes. For more understanding of BV infection how much effect IVF results then need to study higher patient data.