Semen Parameters and Their Influence on Pregnancy after Assisted Reproduction: Report of the Hospital Centre of Porto

Introduction: Several studies analyzed the possible relationships between semen parameters and assisted reproductive technologies (ART) treatments. However, none could establish a threshold to guide in the decision of which treatment technique will be better facing spermiogram values.Objectives: A database with spermiogram and clinical parameters was built in order to search for relevant interactions between semen parameters and different ART treatment techniques. Materials and methods: A general statistical analysis evaluated semen parameters, followed by correlations to study their influence on the pregnancy rate for each type of treatment technique.Results: A predominance of teratozoospermia and asthenozoospermia was observed, with strong positive correlations between age and total motility, as well as obvious correlations between concentration and motility. Of the studied population, 41.8% went for ART consultations and presented a mean time of infertility of 2.9 years, a mean male age of 33.4 years and a mean female age of 31.9 years. Of these, 17.1% achieved a spontaneous pregnancy. Of the treatment cycles, 13.1% were by intra-uterine insemination (10.2% of clinical pregnancy rate, CP, with six newborn, NB), 24.9% by in vitro-fertilization (21.7 CP, 18 NB) and 44.9% by intracytoplasmic sperm injection (25.3% CP, 40 NB). From the analysis between semen parameters and the pregnancy rates, per type of ART technique, a significant positive correlation between techniques was found, revealing thresholds associated with the probability of a successful clinical pregnancy.Conclusions: The present results suggest that spermiogram reference limits can be developed for each treatment technique that are associated with a higher probability of achieving a clinical pregnancy. (C) 2014 Asociacion Espanola de Andrologia, Medicina Sexual y Reproductiva. Published by Elsevier Espana, S.L.U. All rights reserved.