Intracytoplasmic sperm injection does not improve the live birth rate versus conventional IVF in couples with non-severe male infertility, a Lancet study shows.

Researchers randomly assigned couples with infertility with non-severe male factor who did not have a history of poor fertilisation to undergo either intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) (1154 couples) or conventional IVF (1175 couples).

They found that live birth after first embryo transfer occurred in 34% of couples in the ICSI group and in 37% of couples in the conventional IVF group (adjusted risk ratio, 0.92).

Two neonatal deaths occurred in the ICSI group versus one in the conventional IVF group, according to the study by authors from Peking University Third Hospital in Beijing.