Aneuploidy Patterns and Chaotic Embryos in IVF: Age-Stratified Analysis and Re-Biopsy Outcomes from a Romanian Cohort

TL;DR

This study examines aneuploidy in embryos from IVF patients in Romania, showing how maternal age and embryo quality affect chromosomal abnormalities and the usefulness of re-biopsy for chaotic embryos.

Contribution

The study provides novel insights through age-stratified analysis and evaluates chaotic embryos in a Romanian IVF cohort.

Findings

Aneuploidy rates increased with maternal age, from 29.6% in women aged 25–30 to 68.7% in those aged 41–50.

Poor-quality blastocysts had higher aneuploidy rates (72.4%) compared to good-quality embryos (34.6%).

Re-biopsy of chaotic embryos confirmed they remained abnormal, suggesting technical variability in PGT-A results.

Abstract

Background and Objectives: Aneuploidy is the leading cause of implantation failure and miscarriage, with prevalence increasing with maternal age. Embryos classified as chaotic, characterized by the presence of five or more chromosomal abnormalities, and those with complex aneuploidies, defined by two to four abnormalities, represent a controversial category in preimplantation genetic testing for aneuploidy (PGT-A), as the potential for misclassification remains a significant concern. Materials and Methods: We performed a retrospective study at the Calla IVF Center, Oradea, analyzing 230 blastocysts grouped by maternal age (25–30, 31–35, 36–40, and 41–50 years). A trophoblast biopsy was performed on days 5–7, and the samples were analyzed by next-generation sequencing (NGS). Embryos were classified as euploid, aneuploid, mosaic, or chaotic. The 19 embryos initially diagnosed as chaotic were thawed and subjected to re-biopsy. Statistical analysis included descriptive statistics (chi-square tests and ANOVA) and multivariable regression models, with p < 0.05 as the criterion for statistical significance. Results: Aneuploidy increased with maternal age, from 29.6% in women aged 25–30 years to 68.7% in those aged 41–50 (p = 0.002). Poor-quality blastocysts exhibited higher aneuploidy rates (72.4%) than good-quality embryos (34.6%; p = 0.004). Chaotic embryos comprised 8.3% of the cohort. Upon re-biopsy, none were confirmed as euploid; all remained abnormal and were reassigned to aneuploid, mosaic, or persistently chaotic categories. This finding suggests that apparent euploid results reported elsewhere may reflect technical variability and sampling limitations in PGT-A rather than accurate chromosomal normalization. Conclusions: The prevalence of aneuploid embryos showed a progressive increase with advancing maternal age. Chaotic embryos are heterogeneous, and re-biopsy may help refine the interpretation of complex PGT-A profiles, supporting its role as a diagnostic and quality control tool rather than a strategy to identify euploid embryos. Our study offers novel insights through age-stratified analysis, the integration of morphology with genetics in a Romanian IVF cohort, and a detailed evaluation of chaotic embryos, providing clinical recommendations for patient counseling and embryo selection.

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