Prediction of the Epididymal Sperm Condition in the Patient with Obstructive Azoospermia

Park, Jong Yeon; Kim, Sung Jin

Abstract

PURPOSE: On the assumption that there will be certain relations among semen characteristics and anatomic and histologic findings, we examined the usefulness of these tests as a means of predicting the condition of epididymal sperm in patients with obstructive azoospermia through statistical analysis. MATERIAL AND METHODS: For 41 patients with obstructive azoospermia, we obtained the epididymal sperm condition after in vitro retrieval and examined testis biopsy findings, including apoptosis. We also considered patient age, history, endocrinologic data, and scrotal ultrasonograms.
RESULTS
There was no morphological change in the testis biopsy specimens and no statistically signigicant relation between the findings and the condition of the epididymal sperm. The degree of apoptosis tended to be higher, while the number of epididymal sperm was increased and correlated negatively with motility There was no statistically significant relation between the condition of epididymal sperm and patient age, medical history, hormonal values, or scrotal ultrasonographic findings, although the patients with a significant history were inclined to have a worse condition of epididymal sperm than the patients without such a history.
CONCLUSION
It was impossible to find a measure that would predict epididymal sperm condition through testis biopsy or clinical findings in cases of obstructive azoospermia. One noteworthy fact was the tendency toward an inverse correlation between the extent of apoptosis and the motility of sperm.