Effect of sperm morphology and motile sperm count on outcome of intrauterine insemination in oligozoospermia and/or asthenozoospermia

Abstract

Eighty-six couples with long-standing infertility and poor postcoital test, due to oligozoospermia and/or asthenozoospermia (68 cases) or mucus hostility (18 cases), were treated by 411 intrauterine inseminations (IUI) with motile sperm suspensions from the husband's semen. The pregnancy rate per couple in the group with abnormal semen was lower than in the group with mucus hostility (22% versus 38.9%). Influence of seminal and other parameters on outcome of IUI was assessed by discriminant analysis, and a significant correlation with pregnancy rate was found for motile sperm count and sperm morphology. Teratozoospermia (normal morphology less than 50%) affected the outcome of IUI both when associated with moderate oligozoospermia and/or asthenozoospermia (motile sperm count greater than or equal to 5 X 10(6)/mL) (success rate per couple: 11.1%), and, even more, when associated with severe oligozoospermia and/or asthenozoospermia (motile sperm count less than 5 X 10(6)/mL), where no pregnancy was achieved. In the absence of teratozoospermia, the success rate per couple both in severe and in moderate oligozoospermia and/or asthenozoospermia had similar results (33.3% versus 35.7%). In conclusion, the absence of teratozoospermia appears to be an effective criterion for selecting couples with infertility due to oligozoospermia and/or asthenozoospermia who may benefit from IUI.