The role of testicular stiffness derived from shear wave elastography in the assessment of spermatogenesis in men with varicocele.

Abstract

Varicocele is a major correctable cause of male infertility. Shear wave elastography (SWE) represents a valuable approach for assessing spermatogenesis in infertile men; however, its application in infertile men with varicocele remains unreported in the literature to date. The objective of this study was to investigate the correlation between testicular stiffness and spermatogenesis in individuals with varicocele. A total of 568 participants with left-side varicocele and 475 age-matched healthy controls were enrolled. The mean, left, and right testicular volumes (Volume-mean, Volume-L, and Volume-R), the mean elastic modulus of bilateral, left, and right testes (Emean, Emean-L, and Emean-R); the maximum elastic modulus of bilateral, left, and right testes (Emax, Emax-L, and Emax-R); the minimum elastic modulus of bilateral, left, and right testes (Emin, Emin-L, and Emin-R) were calculated. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves for Volume-R and Emax were constructed to identify participants with sperm concentrations below 5 million/mL. The areas under the ROC curves (AUCs) were 0.801 and 0.775, respectively. Combining these 2 markers improved their diagnostic value with an AUC of 0.820 and sensitivity and specificity of 94.6% and 59.8% [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.772-0.867, P<0.01], respectively. A total of 69 participants underwent microsurgical varicocelectomy (including 42 cases with improved semen results and 27 without). The ROC curves of Emax-L and Volume-L were constructed for the differential diagnosis between the improved and unimproved groups; the AUCs were 0.723 and 0.855, respectively. Combining these 2 markers improved their diagnostic value with an AUC of 0.867 (95% CI: 0.772-0.961, P<0.01) and sensitivity and specificity of 81.5% and 81.0%, respectively. Our findings suggest that SWE can be used for varicocele to assess testicular parenchyma damage and Volume-L combined with Emax-L offers a more accurate method for predicting semen parameter improvement after microscopic subinguinal varicocelectomy in men with varicocele.