Received May 05, 1997
Accepted September 17, 1997

Introduction:To determine and compare, in a population of patients under ART, the frequency of complete or SPIER abortions (total or partial resorption of 1 or more gestational sacs) in clinical embarrassments according to the original number of sacs observed. Material Methods:Embarrassments were originally diagnosed when serum B-hCG values were positive. On day 20-35 post conception, the ultrasound study is started to determine the presence of a gestational sac, the number of sacs and, at that moment, the heart rate. The results of 236 embarrassments obtained through ART were studied, finding a total of 154 single embarrassments (65%) and 82 multiple embarrassments (35%). Multiple pregnancies were divided into 59 twins(25%), 19 triplets(8%) and 4 quadruples(2%). The complete loss of the pregnancy(total abortion) or the partial reabsorption of some of the sacs (SPIER) was evaluated in the total of the pregnancies. Results:Complete pregnancy loss was observed in 18% of all pregnancies(43 cases). The respective distribution according to the multiplicity of gestation was as follows: single, 23%; twins, 10%; triples, 5% and quadruples, 0%. Spontaneous post-implantation embryo loss was recorded with an average of 22%(78 cases). The distribution according to the multiplicity of gestation was the following: single embarrassments, 23%; twins, 20%; triples, 16%; quadruple, 56%. The analysis showed that the probability of bag loss (SPIER) does not differ among patients who originally experienced single, twin or triple embarrassments. However, the probability increased in cases that started as quadruple pregnancies, without being statistically significant (p=0.005). Conclusion:The results of the study reveal that in ART cycles the frequency of complete pregnancy loss (total miscarriage) and partial reabsorption of the gestational sacs is not a parallel quadruple correlation. The total pregnancy loss only increases in single versus multiple pregnancies, and the SPIER rate only increases in cases of quadruple pregnancies.