PURPOSE: To determine if males with low hypoosmotic swelling (HOS) test scores may have normal vitality tests.
METHODS: Retrospective nine-year review of initial semen analyses evaluating vitality and HOS tests.
RESULTS: Only 12.5% (45/361) of males with low HOS test scores have low vitality.
CONCLUSIONS: WHO seems to treat vitality and HOS as equal tests. We disagree and find that structural defects of the sperm membrane are much less common than functional impairment of the sperm membrane. Since a male with an HOS test score < 50% will rarely achieve a pregnancy with intercourse, intrauterine insemination, or IVF with conventional insemination it is important to check for the HOS test not viability because the HOS test can be easily corrected with ICSI.
Written by:
Bollendorf A, Check JH, Kramer D. Are you the author?
The University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, Cooper Medical School of Rowan University Cooper Hospital/University Medical Center, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology Division of Reproductive Endocrinology & Infertility, Camden, NJ, USA.
Reference: Clin Exp Obstet Gynecol. 2012;39(1):25-6.
PubMed Abstract
PMID: 22675950
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