• Sarah Lensen, Diana Osavlyuk, Sarah Armstrong, Caroline Stadelmann, Aurélie Hennes, Emma Napier, Jack Wilkinson, Lynn Sadler, Devashana Gupta, Annika Strandell, Christina Bergh, Kugajeevan Vigneswaran, Wan T Teh, Haitham Hamoda, Lisa Webber, Sarah A Wakeman, Leigh Searle, Priya Bhide, Simon McDowell, Karen Peeraer, Yacoub Khalaf, and Cynthia Farquhar.
• From the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Auckland (S.L., D.O., C.F.), and Women's Health (L. Sadler) and Fertility Plus (D.G., C.F.), Auckland District Health Board, Auckland, Fertility Associates, Christchurch (S.A.W.), and Fertility Associates, Wellington (L. Searle, S.M.) - all in New Zealand; Bath Fertility Centre, Bath (S.A., E.N.), the Department of Medical Statistics, Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, Manchester (J.W.), and the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, King's College Hospital (K.V., H.H.), University College Hospital (L.W.), Homerton Fertility Centre, Homerton University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust (P.B.), and Guy's Hospital (Y.K.), London - all in the United Kingdom; the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Institute of Clinical Sciences, University of Gothenburg, Reproductive Medicine, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Gothenburg, Sweden (C.S., A.S., C.B.); Leuven University Fertility Center, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University Hospitals, Leuven, Belgium (A.H., K.P.); and Reproductive Services, Royal Women's Hospital, Melbourne, VIC, Australia (W.T.T.).
• N. Engl. J. Med. 2019 Jan 24; 380 (4): 325-334.

BackgroundEndometrial scratching (with the use of a pipelle biopsy) is a technique proposed to facilitate embryo implantation and increase the probability of pregnancy in women undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF).MethodsWe conducted a pragmatic, multicenter, open-label, randomized, controlled trial. Eligible women were undergoing IVF (fresh-embryo or frozen-embryo transfer), with no recent exposure to disruptive intrauterine instrumentation (e.g., hysteroscopy). Participants were randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to either endometrial scratching (by pipelle biopsy between day 3 of the cycle preceding the embryo-transfer cycle and day 3 of the embryo-transfer cycle) or no intervention. The primary outcome was live birth.ResultsA total of 1364 women underwent randomization. The frequency of live birth was 180 of 690 women (26.1%) in the endometrial-scratch group and 176 of 674 women (26.1%) in the control group (adjusted odds ratio, 1.00; 95% confidence interval, 0.78 to 1.27). There were no significant between-group differences in the rates of ongoing pregnancy, clinical pregnancy, multiple pregnancy, ectopic pregnancy, or miscarriage. The median score for pain from endometrial scratching (on a scale of 0 to 10, with higher scores indicating worse pain) was 3.5 (interquartile range, 1.9 to 6.0).ConclusionsEndometrial scratching did not result in a higher rate of live birth than no intervention among women undergoing IVF. (Funded by the University of Auckland and others; PIP Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry number, ACTRN12614000626662 .).

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