Feasibility of simultaneous testicular microdissection for sperm retrieval and ipsilateral testicular tumor resection in azoospermic men.
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Autonomic dysreflexia (AD) can occur during penile vibratory stimulation in men with spinal cord injury, but this is variable, and the association with lesion level is unclear. The purpose of this study was to characterize the cardiovascular responses to penile vibratory stimulation in men with spinal cord injury. We hypothesized that those with cervical injuries would demonstrate a greater degree of AD compared with men with thoracic injuries. We also questioned whether the rise in blood pressure could be attenuated by sildenafil citrate. Participants were classified as having cervical (n = 8) or thoracic (n = 5) injuries. While in a supine position, subjects were instrumented with an ECG, and arterial blood pressure was determined beat by beat. Subjects reported to the laboratory twice and received an oral dose of sildenafil citrate (25-100 mg) or no medication. Penile vibratory stimulation was performed using a handheld vibrator to the point of ejaculation. At ejaculation during the nonmedicated trials, the cervical group had a significant decrease in heart rate (-5-10 beats/min) and increase in mean arterial blood pressure (+70-90 mmHg) relative to resting conditions, whereas the thoracic group had significant increases in both heart rate (+8-15 beats/min) and mean arterial pressure (+25-30 mmHg). Sildenafil citrate had no effect on the change in heart rate or mean arterial pressure in either group. In summary, men with cervical injuries had more pronounced AD during penile vibratory stimulation than men with thoracic injuries. Administration of sildenafil citrate had no effect on heart rate or blood pressure during penile vibratory stimulation in men with spinal cord injury.
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Improved methods of urological microsurgery and of various assisted reproductive technologies have resulted in the ability to achieve pregnancies with sperm aspirated microsurgically from men with bilateral congenital absence of the vasa deferentia or with ductal obstructions that cannot be surgically reconstructed. A survey was conducted of the results of such procedures performed in the United States during approximately 2 years. Female partner ovarian stimulation was initiated in 219 instances at 22 centers. Of the 219 procedures 23 (11%) were terminated without attempting any form of gamete fertilization or insemination of the wife for various reasons (no sperm or too few sperm retrieved, poor to absent sperm motility or poor quality eggs). The etiology of azoospermia in the 219 procedures was congenital absence of the vasa deferentia in 115 cases (52%), other congenital conditions in 15 (7%), failed vasectomy reversal in 37 (17%), infection in 4 (2%), other conditions (mainly ejaculatory dysfunctions that did not respond to electroejaculation and complex ductal obstructions) in 26 (12%) and not specified in 22 (10%). When only patient sperm was used pregnancy was achieved in 12 of 115 wives (10%) of those men who had congenital absence of the vasa deferentia and in 0 to 14% of the wives of men whose azoospermia was caused by other conditions. Of the 219 menstrual cycles in which ovarian stimulation was initiated pregnancy occurred in 24 (11%) with patient sperm and in 9 (4%) with donor sperm. Of these 33 pregnancies a full-term, live delivery occurred in 17 (52%), while 8 (24%) were ongoing at the time of reporting, 2 (6%) miscarried, 3 (9%) were chemical pregnancies, 1 (3%) resulted in a stillborn child and the outcome was unknown in 2 (6%). This new therapy offers only a modest chance of pregnancy. However, it affords men with azoospermia the opportunity to achieve paternity with their own sperm when other therapies are not available or applicable.
BACKGROUND: Azoospermia, the absence of sperm in ejaculated semen, is the most severe form of male factor infertility and is present in approximately 5% of all investigated infertile couples. The condition is currently classified as "obstructive" or "non-obstructive", although it is important to also consider the specific aetiology of each individual case. Some cases of obstructive azoospermia are treatable using microsurgical reconstruction of the seminal tract (for example, vasectomy reversal). Unreconstructable obstructive azoospermia and non-obstructive azoospermia have historically been relatively untreatable conditions that required the use of donor spermatozoa for fertilisation. The advent of intra-cytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), however, has transformed treatment of this type of severe male factor infertility. Sperm can be retrieved for ICSI from either the epididymis or the testis depending on the type of azoospermia. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the efficacy of the various surgical retrieval techniques for men with obstructive or non obstructive azoospermia prior to ICSI. SEARCH STRATEGY: Electronic searches of the Cochrane Menstrual Disorders and Subfertility Group specialised register of controlled trials, CCTR, MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Bio extracts were performed to identify relevant randomised controlled trials (RCTs). Attempts were also made to identify trials from the National Research Register, the Clinical Trial Register and the citation lists of review articles and included trials. The first or corresponding author of each included trial was also contacted for additional information. SELECTION CRITERIA: Trials were included if they were randomised and compared the effectiveness of sperm retrieval techniques in men with azoospermia prior to ICSI. Due to the lack of RCTs non-randomised trials, who used the participants as their own control, were also considered in the review but not included in the meta-analysis. Trials of surgically extracted sperm versus ejaculated sperm or of diagnostic biopsies with no sperm parameter information were excluded. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: One RCT was included in this systematic review which compared micropuncture with nerve stimulation versus microsurgical epididymal sperm extraction. Pregnancy rate, sperm retrieval adequate for ICSI and fertilisation rate were primary outcomes. Another RCT comparing microsurgical epididymal sperm extraction versus testicular sperm extraction, was excluded from the meta-analysis due to poor randomisation. Seven non-randomised comparative trials were also identified and included. Main outcomes were pregnancy rate, sperm retrieval adequate for ICSI, fertilisation rate and implantation rate. Quality assessment and data extraction were performed independently by two reviewers. Meta-analysis was performed using odds ratios for dichotomous outcomes and weighted mean differences for continuous outcomes. Data unsuitable for meta-analysis was reported as descriptive data and was also included for discussion. MAIN RESULTS: One small RCT comparing two epididymal techniques gave limited evidence that microsurgical epididymal sperm aspiration (MESA) achieved significantly lower pregnancy (OR 0.19, 95% CI 0.04-0.83) and fertilisation rates (OR 0.16, 95% CI 0.05-0.48) than the micropuncture with perivascular nerve stimulation technique. However the small number of participants included and the questionable methodology of this RCT make it impossible to make a definitive statement about the relative merits of either treatment. REVIEWER'S CONCLUSIONS: There is insufficient evidence to recommend any specific sperm retrieval technique for azoospermic men undergoing ICSI. Further randomised trials are warranted, preferably multi-centred trials.
BACKGROUND: Azoospermia, the absence of sperm in ejaculated semen, is the most severe form of male factor infertility and is present in approximately 5% of all investigated infertile couples. The advent of intra-cytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), however, has transformed treatment of this type of severe male factor infertility. Sperm can be retrieved for ICSI from either the epididymis or the testis depending on the type of azoospermia. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the efficacy of the various surgical retrieval techniques for men with obstructive or non obstructive azoospermia prior to ICSI. SEARCH STRATEGY: We searched the Cochrane Menstrual Disorders and Subfertility Group Trials Register (searched 12 Jan 2005), Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (The Cochrane Library Issue 4, 2004), MEDLINE (1966 to Nov 2004), EMBASE (1980 to Dec 2004), and Biological Abstracts (1980 to Nov 2004) and reference lists of articles. SELECTION CRITERIA: Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) comparing the effectiveness of sperm retrieval techniques in men with azoospermia prior to ICSI. Due to the lack of RCTs, non-randomised trials that used the participants as their own control, were also considered in the review but not included in the meta-analysis. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Two reviewers independently assessed trial quality and extracted data. Study authors were contacted for additional information. MAIN RESULTS: Two trials involving 98 men were included. The first small RCT had 59 participants and compared two epididymal techniques. The trial gave limited evidence that microsurgical epididymal sperm aspiration (MESA) achieved significantly lower pregnancy (One pregnancy in 29 procedures compared with seven pregnancies in 30 procedures, OR 0.19, 95% CI 0.04 to 0.83) and fertilisation rates (OR 0.16, 95% CI 0.05 to 0.48) than the micropuncture with perivascular nerve stimulation technique. The other RCT comparing two testicular techniques in 39 participants gave no statistically significant evidence about the superiority of the ultrasound guided aspiration technique compared to the aspiration technique without ultrasound guidance. TSA with ultrasound resulted in pregnancy in 3 out of 16 participants and TSA without ultrasound in four pregnancies with 23 participants (OR 1.10, 95% CI 0.21 to 5.74) AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS: There is insufficient evidence to recommend any specific sperm retrieval technique for azoospermic men undergoing ICSI. In the absence of evidence to support more invasive or more technically difficult methods the reviewers recommend the least invasive and simplest technique available. Further randomised trials are warranted, preferably multi-centred trials. The classification of azoospermia as obstructive and non-obstructive appears to be relevant to a successful clinical outcome so a distinction according to the cause azoospermia is important for future clinical trials.