Clinical Background of Patients with Sperm in Their Urinary Sediment

The detection rate and associated factors of at least one sperm in urinary sediment is not well-known in real clinical practice.

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the clinical features associated with the presence of sperm in urinary sediment in a large number of samples.

We conducted a cross-sectional study at Tokyo Saiseikai Central Hospital. We identified 5,005 males who were aged ≥20 years in whom urinary sedimentation had been performed at least twice between May 2011 and June 2012. The sperm group included patients in whom at least one urinary sediment test performed under a microscope had detected at least one sperm. We evaluated the associations between the presence of at least one sperm in urinary sediment and clinical parameters such as various diseases and the use of particular oral medicines.

In total, 1.6% (339/20,937) of urinary sediment samples contained at least one sperm. The sperm group consisted of 282 subjects (5.6%), and the no-sperm group included 4,723 subjects (94.3%).

Multivariate analysis demonstrated that younger age (<65) (odds ratio [OR]: 1.71, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.32-2.21), the total number of examinations (≥4) (OR: 1.46, 95%CI: 1.11-1.92), diabetes (OR: 1.72, 95%CI: 1.31-2.25), a history of pelvic surgery for colon cancer (OR: 4.89, 95%CI: 2.38-10.02), alpha-1 blocker use (OR: 1.55, 95%CI: 1.16-2.08), a history of trans-urethral resection of the prostate (OR: 2.77, 95%CI: 1.46-5.13), and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor use (OR: 2.12, 95%CI: 1.07-4.19) were independent predictors of the presence of at least one sperm in urinary sediment.

There is considerable overlap between the factors associated with the presence of at least one sperm in urinary sediment and those that are strongly associated with ejaculatory disorders.