Lapse in embryo transfer training does not negatively affect clinical pregnancy rates for reproductive endocrinology and infertility fellows

ObjectiveTo compare rates of clinical pregnancy (CPR) and live birth (LBR) following embryo transfer (ET) performed by reproductive endocrinology and infertility (REI) fellows before and after a prolonged lapse in clinical training due to an 18-month research rotation.DesignRetrospective cohort study.SettingNot applicable.Patient(s)All women undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF) and IVF-intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) cycles with ET performed by REI fellows from August 2003 to July 2012.InterventionEighteen-month lapse in clinical training of REI fellows.Main Outcome Measure(s)CPR and LBR before and after the lapse in clinical training were calculated and compared per fellow and as a composite group. Alternating logistic regression models were used to calculate the odds of clinical pregnancy and live birth following transfers performed before and after the lapse in training.Result(s)Unadjusted odds of clinical pregnancy and live birth were similar between the two time periods both for individual fellows and for the composite group. Alternate logistic regression analysis revealed no significant difference in CPR (odds ratio [OR] 0.94, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.83-1.07) or LBR (OR 1.05, 95% CI 0.94-1.18) after the lapse in training compared with before.Conclusion(s)A research rotation is common in REI fellowship training programs. This prolonged departure from clinical training does not appear to negatively affect pregnancy outcome following fellow ET.