Site of semen collection and its effect on semen analysis parameters
Received 10 July 2006; received in revised form 21 February 2007; accepted 21 February 2007. published online 04 May 2007.
Objective
To determine whether the site of semen collection affects semen parameters by comparing semen samples collected at home with those collected in the office.
Design
Prospective cohort study.
Setting
An academic research environment.
Patient(s)
Men collecting semen samples both at home and in the office, either for a workup for infertility or for use in intrauterine insemination.
Intervention(s)
Semen analysis performed on all specimens, evaluating sperm count, sperm motility, total count, and total motile count.
Main Outcome Measure(s)
Semen analysis parameters.
Result(s)
There was no statistically significant difference in sperm count, sperm motility, total count, or total motile count between those samples collected at home vs. those collected in the office in either group of patients.
Conclusion(s)
The site of semen collection, whether at home vs. in the office, does not have a clinically significant effect on semen analysis parameters.
Department of Urology, Brown Medical School, Providence, Rhode Island
Correspondence to: Rashmi Shetty Licht, M.D., Department of Urology, Brown Medical School, 2 Dudley Street, Rhode Island Hospital, Suite 174, Providence, Rhode Island 02906.
ABSTRACT