Does SARS Cov-2 infection affect the IVF outcome - A systematic review and meta-analysis.

STUDY QUESTION: What is the effect of SARS Cov-2 on IVF outcome?

SUMMARY ANSWER: Mild or asymptomatic Covid-19 infection does not appear to affect clinical or ongoing pregnancy rate after IVF.

WHAT IS ALREADY KNOWN: Covid-19 has been shown to affect female and male fertility and reproductive function. Studies have shown variable results regarding impact of Covid-19 on IVF outcome with few reporting impaired ovarian reserve, oocyte and embryo quality, semen parameters, clinical pregnancy rate (CPR) and live birth rate (LBR) while others reported no effect on IVF outcome.

STUDY DESIGN, SIZE, DURATION: An electronic database search of PubMed, EMBASE, SCOPUS, WHO Covid-19 database, Clinical trials.gov and Cochrane Central was performed for articles published in English language between 1st January 2020 and 15th October 2022 by two independent reviewers using predefined eligibility criteria We have included observational studies both prospective and retrospective, cohort studies, and case control studies and excluded narrative reviews, case studies, cost-effectiveness studies or diagnostic studies. Risk of bias was assessed using NOS and quality of evidence was graded by GRADE pro.

PARTICIPANTS, SETTINGS, METHODS: Studies comparing women undergoing IVF and comparing Covid-19 affected with those unaffected by Covid-19 were included. Also, studies comparing immune group (infected or vaccinated) in the study group and unaffected as controls (historical controls, IVF cycles done prior to Covid-19 outbreak but matched with study group) were included. Those with no comparison group or published in language other than English language or duplicate studies were excluded.

MAIN RESULTS AND ROLE OF CHANCE: We identified 5046 records and after full text screening of 82 studies, 12 studies were selected for final review. For the clinical pregnancy rate, there was no difference in the CPR in covid recovered or control patients (OR 0.90, 95 % CI = 0.67 to1.21; I2  = 29 %). Similarly, there was no significant effect on implantation rate (RR 0.92, 95 % CI = 0.68 to1.23; I2  = 31 %) and ongoing pregnancy rate (RR 0.96, 95 % CI = 0.79 to 1.15;I2  = 21 %). The mean number of the oocyte retrieved per patient was not significantly different in both the groups (mean difference 0.52, 95 % CI = -1.45 to 2.49; I2  = 75 %). The certainty of the evidence was low.

LIMITATIONS: The meta-analysis is based on observational studies each involving small number of participants. Few studies reported outcomes as per patient while others reported as per cycle, for uniformity we have reported outcomes as per cycle. Sample size in most of studies was small.

WIDER IMPLICATIONS OF FINDINGS: This systematic review has not shown any significant effect on the outcome of IVF cycles in patients post Covid-19 recovery compared to controls. But given the sample size, the findings should be considered with caution.

REGISTRATION: The review protocol has been registered on PROSPERO (registration number CRD42022314515).