A computerized postcoital test sperm motility: comparison with clinical postcoital test and correlations with sperm antibodies

Abstract

Sixty-five infertile women had a conventional postcoital test (PCT), a computerized postcoital test (cPCT), and sperm antibody testing. Twenty-four women had good cervical mucus and good PCT sperm motility (group 1), 23 had poor cervical mucus and poor PCT sperm motility (group 2), and 18 had good cervical mucus but poor PCT sperm motility (group 3). The percentage of motile sperm, mean linearity, and the motility index of sperm by cPCT also were decreased in groups 2 and 3 (p less than 0.001) in contrast to group 1. A reduced PCT sperm count was significantly associated with positive titers of antibodies to autologous sperm in the husbands' serum, whereas a reduced PCT motility correlated with high titers of cytotoxic antibodies to husbands' sperm in the wives' serum and cervical mucus. An increased percentage of vibratory sperm at PCT correlated with elevated titers of cytotoxic antibodies to husbands' sperm in the wives' serum and cervical mucus, and hemagglutinating (r = 0.44; p less than 0.001) and immunofluorescent IgA antibodies to husbands' sperm (r = 0.47; p less than 0.001) in the cervical mucus. Mean swimming speed of sperm by cPCT correlated inversely with cytotoxic and hemagglutinating antibody titers to husbands' sperm, and immunobead-binding IgM and immunofluorescent IgG, IgA, and IgM (r = 0.52; p less than 0.001) antibodies to sperm in the seminal plasma. Motility indices correlated inversely with cytotoxic antibody titers to husbands' sperm in the wives' serum, and hemagglutinating antibody titers to husbands' sperm in cervical mucus. The predictive values of PCT and cPCT for the presence of cytotoxic and immunofluorescent IgA antibodies to autoimmune husbands' sperm were 76% and 71%, respectively, in the serum and 85% and 75%, respectively, in the cervical mucus of the wives. The predictive value of PCT and cPCT for immunobead-binding and immunofluorescent IgM antibodies to sperm in the wives' serum was 71%. Computerized PCT measures more sperm characteristics than PCT, although it is in general agreement with PCT.