Predictive factors for successful testicular biopsy

Duarte Vieira Brito; Manuel Lopes; Jose Pereira; Ana Maria Ferreira; Luis Sousa; Belmiro Parada; Arnaldo Figueiredo

doi:10.4081/aiua.2023.11567

Authors

Duarte Vieira Brito
duartevbrito@hotmail.com
Urology and Renal Transplantation Department, Coimbra University Hospital Centre, Portugal. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7960-774X
Manuel Lopes Urology and Renal Transplantation Department, Coimbra University Hospital Centre, Portugal. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2464-5359
Jose Pereira Urology and Renal Transplantation Department, Coimbra University Hospital Centre, Portugal.
Ana Maria Ferreira Urology and Renal Transplantation Department, Coimbra University Hospital Centre, Portugal.
Luis Sousa Urology and Renal Transplantation Department, Coimbra University Hospital Centre, Portugal.
Belmiro Parada Urology and Renal Transplantation Department, Coimbra University Hospital Centre, Portugal.
Arnaldo Figueiredo Urology and Renal Transplantation Department, Coimbra University Hospital Centre, Portugal. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7157-0081

Introduction: Infertility, the inability to conceive, constitutes a major problem in modern societies. It affects 10 to 15 percent of couples in the United States. Evaluation of infertile men is usually complex and often demands a testicular biopsy. Materials and methods: We reviewed all azoospermic men submitted to testicular biopsy, in our center, during infertility investigation between January 2015 and December 2021. Results: A total of 117 patients with a mean age of 36.5 was considered. Biopsy was positive, as defined by the presence of viable spermatozoids by microscopy, in 48.7% of patients (n = 57). Patients were divided in two separate groups based on positive (PB) or negative biopsy (NB) and compared. PB-group had normal serum total testosterone levels and higher than NB-group (3.7 ng/mL vs. 2.85 ng/mL, p = 0.021), and normal serum FSH levels and lower than NB-group (6.0 mIU/mL vs. 16.0 mIU/mL, p < 0.001). The groups were similar concerning serum LH levels (3.9 mIU/mL vs. 6.3 mIU/mL, p = 0.343. Conclusions: Predicting outcomes of testicular biopsy is a difficult task. Our study found that men with normal testicular volume, normal levels of testosterone and FSH and those with type 1 diabetes mellitus had a higher probability of positive testicular biopsy.

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Brito, D. V., Lopes, M., Pereira, J., Ferreira, A. M., Sousa, L., Parada, B., & Figueiredo, A. (2023). Predictive factors for successful testicular biopsy. Archivio Italiano Di Urologia E Andrologia, 95(3). https://doi.org/10.4081/aiua.2023.11567