Male Factor Infertility: Five Years Experience

Objective: To determine the frequencies of different etiological factors responsible for male infertility in our setup. Study Design: Case Series Study Place and Duration: This study was conducted at Lady Reading Hospital Peshawar, Pakistan, from 1st January 2002 to 31st December 2006. Materials and Methods: All male patients attending the infertility clinic were included in this study. After taking an informed consent and history, clinical examination and related investigation were carried out and a male factor responsible for infertility were confirmed and a possible etiology was tried to be sorted out. All the above information was collected and entered into a proforma. The data were analyzed in SPSS, version 10.0, Frequencies and percentages were calculated. Results: Total number of patients was 676, in which 166 (24.55%) were normospermic, 316 (46.74%) were oligo and/or asthenospermic and 194 (28.69%) patients were azoospermic. 240 (35.50 %) patients had a past history of sexually transmitted infection (STI) and 72 (10.65%) had mumps in childhood while 98 (14.50%) patients underwent inguinal/scrotal surgery or sustained scrotal trauma in the past. 24 (3.55%) patients were having varicocele on left side on clinical examination. 340 (50.30%) patients were having pus cells ( 1*106/mL) in their semen, out of which 08 (2.35%), 04 (1.17%), 02 (0.59%) and 02 (0.59%) were having growths of N. gonorrhoeae, E.coli, Proteus and Provedencia respectively on semen culture. Out of 194 azoospermic patients, 108 (55.67%) were labeled as having testicular failure on the basis of clinical/radiological examination, semen analysis, hormonal assays or testicular biopsy. Sexual dysfunction in the form of decreased libido or premature ejaculation was found in 234 (34.62%) patients. 616 (91.12%) patients married once, 54 (7.99%) married twice and 6 (0.89%) patients married thrice. Conclusion: Male factor contributes significantly towards infertility and several treatable causes can be sorted out easily. Thus steps should be taken to create an environment of awareness regarding the issue and male partner should be investigated first thereby reducing the negative social impacts.