The purpose of this study was to compare the rate of preterm birth, low birth weight, and foetal growth restriction in assisted reproductive technology (ART) singleton pregnancies diagnosed with vanishing twin (VT) syndrome to those of ART pregnancies that were originally singleton pregnancies.
In this retrospective study, 177 pregnancies diagnosed with VT syndrome were matched and compared with 218 primary singleton pregnancies. The preterm birth and low birth weight rates of these two groups were evaluated. All pregnancies were conceived through ART and delivered at Peking University First Hospital and Hebei Xingtai Infertility Hospital from 2014 to 2016.
The preterm delivery rate (20.90 vs. 8.72%, p<0.05) was significantly higher in the ART singletons with VT syndrome than in the control singleton group. The proportion of low-birth-weight (<2500 g) infants was also higher in the VT group than in the primary singleton group (10.73 vs. 3.67%, p<0.05). In addition, the preterm birth rate of the naturally conceived singletons was significantly lower than that of the ART singletons (6.00 vs. 14.18%, p<0.05).
ART singleton pregnancies with VT syndrome have higher rates of preterm birth and low-birth-weight new-borns than ART pregnancies that were originally singleton pregnancies.
Cavoretto, P, Candiani, M, Giorgione, V, Inversetti, A, Abu‐Saba, MM, Tiberio, F, et al. Risk of spontaneous preterm birth in singleton pregnancies conceived after IVF/ICSI treatment: meta‐analysis of cohort studies. Ultrasound Obstet Gynecol 2018;51:43–53. https://doi.org/10.1002/uog.18930.
Moini, A, Shiva, M, Arabipoor, A, Hosseini, R, Chehrazi, M, Sadeghi, M. Obstetric and neonatal outcomes of twin pregnancies conceived by assisted reproductive technology compared with twin pregnancies conceived spontaneously: a prospective follow-up study. Eur J Obstet Gynecol Reprod Biol 2012;165:29–32. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejogrb.2012.07.008.
Almog, B, Levin, I, Wagman, I, Kapustiansky, R, Lessing, JB Amit, A, et al. Adverse obstetric outcome for the vanishing twin syndrome. Reprod Biomed Online 2010;20:256–60. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rbmo.2009.11.015.
Pinborg, A, Lidegaard, O, la Cour Freiesleben, N, Andersen, AN. Consequences of vanishing twins in IVF/ICSI pregnancies [published correction appears in Hum Reprod. 2006 May;21:1335]. Hum Reprod 2005;20:2821–9. https://doi.org/10.1093/humrep/dei142.
Márton, V, Zádori, J, Kozinszky, Z, Keresztúri, A. Prevalences and pregnancy outcome of vanishing twin pregnancies achieved by in vitro fertilization versus natural conception. Fertil Steril 2016;106:1399–406. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fertnstert.2016.07.1098.
Shebl, O, Ebner, T, Sommergruber, M, Sir, A, Tews, G. Birth weight is lower for survivors of the vanishing twin syndrome: a case-control study. Fertil Steril 2008;90:310–4. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fertnstert.2007.06.048.
Obstetriciansgynecologists ACO, Committee on Practice Bulletins Obstetrics. ACOG practice bulletin no. 127: management of preterm labor. Obstet Gynecol 2012;119:1308–17. https://doi.org/10.1097/aog.0b013e31825af2f0.
ACOG practice bulletin no. 134: fetal growth restriction. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Obstet Gynecol 2013;121:1122–33. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.aog.0000429658.85846.f9.
Zhou, L, Gao, X, Wu, Y, Zhang, Z. Analysis of pregnancy outcomes for survivors of the vanishing twin syndrome after in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer. Eur J Obstet Gynecol Reprod Biol 2016;203:35–9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejogrb.2016.04.014.
Magnus, MC, Ghaderi, S, Morken, NH, Magnus, P, Bente Romundstad, L, Skjærven, R, et al. Vanishing twin syndrome among ART singletons and pregnancy outcomes. Hum Reprod 2017;32:2298–304. https://doi.org/10.1093/humrep/dex277.
Joseph, T, Selliah, HY, Karthikeyan, M, Chandy, A, Kunjummen, AT, Kamath, MS. Comparison of perinatal outcomes of singletons following vanishing twin phenomenon and singletons with initial single gestational sac conceived following assisted reproductive technology: a retrospective analysis. J Hum Reprod Sci 2019;12:164–8. https://doi.org/10.4103/jhrs.jhrs_127_18.
Evron, E, Sheiner, E, Friger, M, Sergienko, R, Harlev, A. Vanishing twin syndrome: is it associated with adverse perinatal outcome?. Fertil Steril 2015;103:1209–14. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fertnstert.2015.02.009.
Patrizio, P, Bianchi, V, Lalioti, MD, Gerasimova, T, Sakkas, D. High rate of biological loss in assisted reproduction: it is in the seed, not in the soil. Reprod Biomed Online 2007;14:92–5. https://doi.org/10.1016/s1472-6483(10)60769-9.
Landy, HJ, Keith, LG. The vanishing twin: a review. Hum Reprod Update 1998;4:177–83. https://doi.org/10.1093/humupd/4.2.177.
Mansour, R, Serour, G, Aboulghar, M, Kamal, O, Al-Inany, H. The impact of vanishing fetuses on the outcome of ICSI pregnancies. Fertil Steril 2010;94:2430–2. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fertnstert.2010.02.058.
© 2021 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston.
