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Scaravelli G, Levi Setti PE, Gennarelli G, Mencaglia L, Ubaldi FM, De Luca R, Cimadomo D, Spoletini R, Vigiliano V, Sileri PP. The actual impact of SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19 pandemic on IVF activity: a survey across Italian ART centers. J Assist Reprod Genet 2022; 39:2373-2380. [PMID: 35997867 PMCID: PMC9395871 DOI: 10.1007/s10815-022-02600-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2022] [Accepted: 08/18/2022] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Purpose Since the end of February 2020, SARS-CoV-2 dramatically spread in Italy. To ensure that most of National Health System (NHS) resources were employed to control the pandemic, non-urgent medical procedures (including IVF) were suspended in March 2020. Here, we aimed at assessing the impact of the restrictive measures on Italian IVF activity. Methods In May 2020, the Italian ART Register launched an online survey (multiple choices and open answers) across ART centers (89.0% response rate; N = 170/191) to investigate how they were facing the emergency and estimate the reduction in their activity. In February 2022, the official data of the whole 2020 were published and retrospectively analyzed. The ART cycles conducted in Italy in 2020 (67,928 by 57,423 patients) were then compared to those conducted in 2019 (82,476 by 67,633 patients). The estimates formulated through the survey were compared to the actual reduction. Results In 2020, 14,548 less IVF cycles were conducted with respect to 2019 (− 17.6% reduction). This led to 2539 fewer live births (− 19.8%) than 2019. If the reduction unveiled by the survey launched in May 2020 (i.e., − 35%) would have persisted throughout 2020, a significantly larger impact was expected (4200 less newborns). Instead, the activity was gradually recovered, and it compensated the months of greatest emergency, thus fulfilling the most optimistic scenario. Conclusions Italy suffers from the lowest birth rate in Europe, and COVID-19 impact on IVF-derived live births testified how key ART is for Italian demographics. The government should support access to these treatments with dedicated actions. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10815-022-02600-2.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giulia Scaravelli
- ART Italian National Register, National Centre for Diseases Prevention and Health Promotion, National Health Institute, via Regina Elena, 299, 00161, Rome, Italy
| | - Paolo Emanuele Levi Setti
- Department of Gynecology, Division of Gynecology and Reproductive Medicine, Fertility Center, Humanitas Research Hospital, IRCCS, Milan, Italy.,Department of Biomedical Sciences, Humanitas University, Pieve Emanuele, Italy
| | - Gianluca Gennarelli
- Obstetrics and Gynecology 1U, Physiopathology of Reproduction and IVF Unit, Department of Surgical Sciences, Sant'Anna Hospital, University of Torino, Turin, Italy.,Livet, GeneraLife IVF, Turin, Italy
| | - Luca Mencaglia
- Physiopathology of Reproduction, Santa Margherita Hospital, Cortona, Italy
| | | | - Roberto De Luca
- ART Italian National Register, National Centre for Diseases Prevention and Health Promotion, National Health Institute, via Regina Elena, 299, 00161, Rome, Italy.
| | | | - Roberta Spoletini
- ART Italian National Register, National Centre for Diseases Prevention and Health Promotion, National Health Institute, via Regina Elena, 299, 00161, Rome, Italy
| | - Vincenzo Vigiliano
- ART Italian National Register, National Centre for Diseases Prevention and Health Promotion, National Health Institute, via Regina Elena, 299, 00161, Rome, Italy
| | - Pier Paolo Sileri
- Undersecretary for Health, Ministry of Health, Rome, Italy.,Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milan, Italy
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Demeestere I, Van den Abbeel E, Delbaere A. Reply: Risk of contamination with SARS-CoV-2 in ART. Hum Reprod 2022; 37:1096. [PMID: 35262685 PMCID: PMC9383612 DOI: 10.1093/humrep/deac054] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- I Demeestere
- CUB-ERASME Hospital, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Fertility Clinic, Brussels, 1070, Belgium.,Université Libre de Bruxelles, Research Laboratory on Human Reproduction, Erasme Campus, Brussels, 1070, Belgium
| | - E Van den Abbeel
- CUB-ERASME Hospital, Fertility Clinic, IVF Laboratory, Brussels, 1070, Belgium
| | - A Delbaere
- CUB-ERASME Hospital, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Fertility Clinic, Brussels, 1070, Belgium
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