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Comparison of two methods for the measurement of sperm concentration
R Z Sokol1, P Shulman, R J Paulson
1Departments of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Medicine, University of Southern California School of Medicine, Los Angeles, California, USA. rsokol@hsc.usc.edu
Objective:
To determine the accuracy of both the hemocytometer and the MicroCell, to evaluate which method is the most reliable, and to confirm the accuracy of latex beads as an internal standard.
Design:
Prospective procedural assessment.
Setting:
University-based infertility clinic.
Patient(S):
One hundred sixty-five male sexual partners of women undergoing screening for infertility.
Intervention(S):
Semen analysis.
Main Outcome Measurement(S):
Sperm and latex bead concentrations.
Result(S):
Sperm concentration values obtained with the hemocytometer were highly correlated with those obtained from the MicroCell (r = 0.88). The mean value of the latex beads concentration was closer to the standard value using the hemocytometer than the MicroCell.
Conclusion(S):
Both the hemocytometer and the MicroCell are suitable as screening techniques to measure sperm concentration. Fixed suspensions of latex beads serve as reliable internal quality control standards.