Ultrasonically detected fetal anomalies at mid-trimester scan in 1669 ICSI pregnancies compared with 3365 spontaneous pregnancies

Objective Comparison of mid-trimester ultrasound-detected anomalies in inttracytoplasmic sperm Injection (ICSI) pregnancies with those in spontaneous pregnancies. Materials and methods A retrospective controlled study was conducted at a tertiary ultrasound referral center affiliated to a large in vitro fertilization (IVF) center. Pregnant women who conceived through ICSI (n=1669) and those who conceived spontaneously (n=3365) were compared with regard to incidence of congenital fetal malformations. Results The number of ultrasonically detected anomalous fetuses in the ICSI group was 30 (1.3%) and that in the spontaneous pregnancy group was 66 (1.9%) [odds ratio (OR) 0.68; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.44–1.05]. There were 14 anomalous fetuses in the ICSI singleton group and 63 in the spontaneous singleton group (OR 0.7; 95% CI 0.39–1.09). In the ICSI twin group there were 16 anomalous fetuses out of 637 twins and in the spontaneous group there were three anomalous fetuses out of 102 twins (OR 0.85; 95% CI 0.25–2.95). The incidence of singleton ICSI anomalies was 1.3% compared with 1.5% in twins in the ICSI group (OR 0.93; 95% CI 0.45–1.9). The types of anomalies were comparable in both groups. Conclusion There is no significant difference in the incidence or type of ultrasound-detected anomalies in ICSI compared with spontaneous pregnancies in the examined sample of Egyptian women.