Sperm Recovery Prediction in Azoospermic Patients Using Doppler Ultrasonography

Abstract

Testicular Power Doppler assessment showed that patients with obstructive azoospermia have better blood flow than patients with non-obstructive azoospermia, and power Doppler is able to predict sperm recovery in azoospermic patients.

Diffusion tensor imaging parameters in testes with nonobstructive azoospermia

“…A noninvasive technique helping to predict the chance of obtaining spermatozoa at TESE would be beneficial. Several studies have assessed the efficacy of color or power Doppler sonographic mapping of NOA testes to predict the presence of spermatogenic foci . Foresta et al in a study of 12 NOA subjects with color and power Doppler US analyzed the presence of intratesticular vessels by dividing each testis into medial or lateral, anterior or posterior side of the cranial, middle, and caudal thirds .…”

“…Several studies have assessed the efficacy of color or power Doppler sonographic mapping of NOA testes to predict the presence of spermatogenic foci. [6][7][8][9][10][11] Foresta et al in a study of 12 NOA subjects with color and power Doppler US analyzed the presence of intratesticular vessels by dividing each testis into medial or lateral, anterior or posterior side of the cranial, middle, and caudal thirds. 8 The authors concluded that the presence of blood vessels, especially in peripheral regions, might indicate the possible presence of residual spermatogenic foci.…”

“…[4][5][6] Noninvasive imaging examinations, such as color or power Doppler ultrasonography (US) guidance to regions with avid vascularity that correspond to possible residual spermatogenic areas have been used. [7][8][9][10][11] A few reports on the role of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) techniques, including diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI), magnetization transfer imaging, and 1 H magnetic resonance spectroscopy in the localization and identification of spermatogenesis in infertile testis have recently been published. 12,13 Wang et al in a study of 16 men with testicular hypospermatogenesis, confirmed by percutaneous testis biopsy, reported significantly higher apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) when compared to normal testes.…”

Open testicular mapping: A less invasive multiple biopsy approach for testicular sperm extraction

“…Despite correlating more closely with impaired spermatogenesis than does FSH, inhibin‐B level is not diagnostic (Vernaeve, Brugnon, & Tournaye, ). Doppler ultrasonography was recently used to correlate testicular blood flow with successful sperm recovery in azoospermic men, but whether its results are definitive remains under investigation (Souza, Cunha‐Filho, Fagundes, Freitas, & Passos, ). The limited sample did not allow us to define any clinically good positive prognostic factor among those analysed, and it was clear that these indicators were related to the diversity of the subjects studied in the literature.…”

Semen biomarker TEX101 predicts sperm retrieval success for men with testicular failure

“…Several candidate clinical markers intended to predict the presence of sperm within the testis have been proposed including testis size, FSH, serum testosterone, inhibin B, genetic profiles (karyotype, Y-microdeletions) and blood flow patterns within the testis on Doppler studies. [15][16][17][18][19] Unfortunately, none have demonstrated consistent clinical reliability compared with an in-depth testicular tissue analysis and sampling using the surgical microscope. Even the pathology on a previous diagnostic testicular biopsy (usually a randomly sampled tissue biopsy) does not definitively predict whether sperm are present or absent throughout the remaining of testis among men with non-obstructive azoospermia.…”