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. 2013 Nov;15(6):790-4.
doi: 10.1038/aja.2013.81. Epub 2013 Aug 5.

Diagnostic value of sperm DNA fragmentation and sperm high-magnification for predicting outcome of assisted reproduction treatment

Gemma López  1 , Rafael Lafuente, Miguel A Checa, Ramón Carreras, Mario Brassesco
Affiliations

Diagnostic value of sperm DNA fragmentation and sperm high-magnification for predicting outcome of assisted reproduction treatment

Gemma López et al. Asian J Androl. 2013 Nov.

Abstract

Over the last years, major improvements in the field of male infertility diagnosis have been achieved. The aim of this study was to determine the diagnostic usefulness of sperm DNA integrity and sperm vacuolisation for predicting outcome in infertile couples undergoing in vitro fertilisation (IVF) and intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) treatments. A cohort study from 152 infertile couples undergoing sperm DNA fragmentation and high-magnification tests prior to an assisted reproduction treatment was designed. We found that the most predictive cutoff for pregnancy was 25.5% of DNA fragmentation with a negative predictive value of 72.7% (P=0.02). For the degree of vacuolisation, the best predictor of pregnancy was 73.5% of vacuolated sperm grades III+IV with a negative predictive value of 39.4% (P=0.09), which was not statistically significant. In conclusion, sperm DNA fragmentation greater than 25.5% could be associated with higher probability of failure IVF treatment. Regarding the results of the sperm analysis at high magnification, they do not allow us to predict whether or not patients will become pregnant.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
ROC curve for sperm DNA fragmentation. Area under the ROC curve (95% CI): 0.546 (0.450–0.642). ROC, receiver operating characteristic.
Figure 2
Figure 2
ROC curve for sperm vacuolisation grades III+IV. Area under the ROC curve (95% CI): 0.533 (0.440–0.626). ROC, receiver operating characteristic.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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