REGIONAL ANESTHESIA FOR EGG RETRIEVAL INCREASES IN VITRO FERTILIZATION PREGNANCIES
SAN FRANCISCO -- In terms of higher pregnancy rates and patient satisfaction but at less cost, spinal anesthesia (SA) emerges as the superior anesthetic choice over general anesthesia (GA) for oocyte, or egg, retrieval procedures for in vitro fertilization (IVF), according to research conducted at Boston's Massachusetts General Hospital.
According to a study of 25 women, those who chose SA for egg retrieval had a significantly higher overall pregnancy rate than those who opted for GA (50 percent versus 33 percent, respectively), anesthesiologist Bobbie Jean Sweitzer, M.D., said.
The differences in pregnancy rates could have something to do with the different ways SA and GA affect the body, Dr. Sweitzer said at the .
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