A new micro swim-up procedure for sperm preparation in ICSI treatments: preliminary microbiological testing.

Objective: This study aimed to assess the levels of microbial contamination in semen samples before and after the micro swim-up (MSU) procedure in intra-cytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). The new method is an upgrade to the classic wash swim-up procedure. Methods: Semen analysis and microbiological tests were carried out before and after the MSU procedure. A total of twenty semen samples were analyzed. Results: Pathogens were observed in semen samples only before MSU and never after ICSI. Microbiological tests revealed a large prevalence of gram-positive cocci [Staphylococcus spp. (n=16, 80%) and viridans streptococci (n=10, 50%)]. The results of this study indicate that direct MSU in ICSI improved the ICSI workflow. Conclusion: The new workflow is faster and more affordable, and is likely to prevent infection problems that could arise from the normal microbial flora of the semen.