Sperm agglutination: Prevalence and contributory factors. Andrologia 2019 Jun;51(5):e13254
Date
02/15/2019Pubmed ID
30761575DOI
10.1111/and.13254Scopus ID
2-s2.0-85061444133 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site) 21 CitationsAbstract
Agglutination is a finding noted in semen analyses (SAs) that often causes confusion as to its significance. While some have attributed agglutination to antisperm antibodies (ASAs), there are other causes as well, such as genital tract infection and ascorbic acid deficiency. Additionally, it is known that patients with ASAs often have risk factors such as a history of scrotal trauma or surgery. Therefore, we sought to determine the prevalence of agglutination in our patient population and correlate it with these risk factors, regardless of the presence/absence of ASAs. A retrospective study was conducted on the SAs of men seen at a single academic Reproductive Center. Of the 1,095 SAs identified, 133 (12.1%) patients experienced agglutination (61.7% scant, 21.8% moderate and 16.5% excessive). Of patients who underwent multiple SAs, 24 (12.2%) showed variability. Furthermore, patients who underwent scrotal surgery carried 3.4 times the risk of agglutination (X2 p < 0.01) and 5.5 times the risk of variability (X2 p < 0.01) as compared to those patients without a history significant for scrotal surgery. Agglutination is a relatively common finding in men presenting to a reproductive clinic with little intrapatient variability. Scrotal surgery confers a higher risk of agglutination and variability.
Author List
Berger GK, Smith-Harrison LI, Sandlow JIAuthor
Jay I. Sandlow MD Chair, Professor in the Urologic Surgery department at Medical College of WisconsinMESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold
AutoantibodiesHumans
Infertility, Male
Male
Orchiectomy
Orchiopexy
Retrospective Studies
Scrotum
Semen Analysis
Sperm Agglutination
Spermatozoa
Sterilization Reversal
Vasectomy
