The influence of testicular microlithiasis on the outcomes of in vitro fertilisation in a Chinese Han population.

To investigate the influence of testicular microlithiasis ( TM) on the outcomes of in vitro fertilisation ( IVF), we retrospectively reviewed the ultrasonography results of the TM patients who underwent IVF treatment in our hospital. They were classified as classic- TM ( CTM) or limited- TM ( LTM) comparing with patients without TM (Non- TM). Semen parameters, rates of fertilisation, normal fertilisation, good embryos and clinical pregnancy were analysed. The Non- TM group showed higher percentage of morphologically normal spermatozoa than the CTM or LTM group (4.08 ± 2.07 versus 3.40 ± 2.00 versus 3.04 ± 1.66, p = .003) while the other general semen parameters were comparable. The LTM group showed higher rate of fertilisation than the CTM group (85.10% versus 81.12%, p = .044). Moreover, the rates of normal fertilisation of Non- TM (62.47%) and LTM (66.32%) group were significantly higher than the CTM (58.02%) group ( p = .027 and p = .001 respectively). There were 333 embryo transfer cycles in total (including 222 fresh and 111 frozen). The overall clinical pregnancy rate was 54.95%, 58.33% and 64.12% in the group of CTM, LTM and Non- TM respectively. However, no statistically significant difference was obtained ( p = .326). Our results suggest that TM may have influence on the IVF outcomes. The extent of microlithiasis correlates inversely with the rates of fertilisation and normal fertilisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]