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Meredith A Reynolds

Publications and source records attributed to Meredith A Reynolds.

6 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2003

Does insurance coverage decrease the risk for multiple births associated with assisted reproductive technology?

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether insurance coverage for ART is associated with transfer of fewer embryos and decreased risk of multiple births. DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study of a population-based sample of IVF procedures performed in six U.S. states during 1998. SETTING: Three states with mandated insurance coverage (Illinois, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island) and three states without coverage (Indiana, Michigan, and New Jersey). PARTICIPANT(S): Seven thousand, five hundred sixty-one IVF transfer procedures in patients < or = 35 years of age. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Number of embryos transferred, multiple-birth rate, triplet or higher order birth rate, and triplet or higher order gestation rate. RESULT(S): A smaller proportion of procedures included transfer of three or more embryos in Massachusetts (64%) and Rhode Island (74%) than in the noninsurance states (82%). The multiple-birth rate in Massachusetts (38%) was less than in the noninsurance states (43%). The insurance states all had protective odds ratios for triplet or higher order births, but only the odds ratio (0.2) for Massachusetts was significant. This decreased risk in Massachusetts resulted from several factors, including a smaller proportion of patients with three or more embryos transferred, lower implantation rates when three or more embryos were transferred, and greater rates of fetal loss among triplet or higher order gestations. CONCLUSION(S): Insurance appears to affect embryo transfer practices. Whether this translates into decreased multiple birth risk is less clear.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

Live-birth rates and multiple-birth risk of assisted reproductive technology pregnancies conceived using thawed embryos, USA 1999-2000.

BACKGROUND: Increasing use of assisted reproductive technology treatments has been associated with the current rise in multiple births in the USA. Embryo cryopreservation and subsequent thawed embryo transfer may favourably impact the multiple-birth risk by relieving some pressure that patients and providers may feel to transfer several embryos in a single cycle. The study objective was to examine both live-birth rates and multiple-birth risk in thawed cycles. METHODS: The authors used a population-based sample of 21 555 assisted reproductive technology procedures performed in US clinics in 1999 and 2000 that used thawed embryos derived from the patient's oocytes. RESULTS: Both patient age and the number of embryos transferred were independent predictors of live birth. Even among women aged 20-29 years, the transfer of three embryos resulted in an increase in the live-birth rate compared with cycles in which one or two embryos were transferred. This increase in success was accompanied by an increased multiple-birth risk. In all age groups up to 40 years, the transfer of just two embryos resulted in a multiple-birth risk of 16-17%. The multiple-birth risk increased with the number of embryos transferred. CONCLUSIONS: Patient age and the number of embryos transferred significantly affect live-birth and multiple-birth rates among women who use thawed embryos.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

Trends in multiple births conceived using assisted reproductive technology, United States, 1997-2000.

OBJECTIVE: To examine trends in multiple births conceived using assisted reproductive technology (ART) in the United States between 1997 and 2000 and to estimate the proportion of all US multiple births attributable to ART use. METHODS: We analyzed population-based data of 109 519 live-born infants who were conceived in the United States using ART and born between 1997 and 2000 and population-based data of 15 856 809 live-born infants who were delivered in the United States between 1997 and 2000. Multiple birth rates (the number of live-born infants delivered in multiple gestation pregnancies per 1000 live births) and the proportion of all US multiple births attributable to ART were evaluated. RESULTS: The twin rate for ART patients increased between 1997 and 2000, reaching 444.7 per 1000 live births in 2000, whereas the triplet/+ rate declined substantially from 134.3 to 98.7 per 1000 live births from 1997-2000. From 1997-2000, the proportion of multiple births in the United States attributable to ART increased from 11.2% to 13.6%, whereas the proportion attributable to natural conception decreased from 69.9% to 64.5%. In 2000, the proportion of triplet/+ births attributable to ART and to natural conception was 42.5% and 17.7%, respectively. The contribution of ART to multiple births increased substantially with maternal age, from 11.6% for triplet/+ infants born to women aged 20 to 24 to 92.8% for women aged 45 to 49 years. CONCLUSIONS: The contribution of ART to twin birth rates continues to increase, but the contribution of ART to triplet/+ birth rates has declined.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

Issues associated with and recommendations for using PCR to detect outbreaks of pertussis.

Two outbreaks of respiratory tract illness associated with prolonged cough occurring in 1998 and 1999 in New York State were investigated. A PCR test for Bordetella pertussis was primarily used by a private laboratory to confirm 680 pertussis cases. Several clinical specimens had positive culture results for B. pertussis during both outbreaks, which confirmed that B. pertussis was circulating during the outbreaks. However, testing by the New York State Department of Health reference laboratory suggested that some of the PCR results may have been falsely positive. In addition, features of the outbreak that suggested that B. pertussis may not have been the primary agent of infection included a low attack rate among incompletely vaccinated children and a significant amount of illness among patients testing PCR negative for B. pertussis. These investigations highlight the importance of appropriate clinical laboratory quality assurance programs, of the limitations of the PCR test, and of interpreting laboratory results in context of clinical disease.

Bordetella pertussis↗