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Spermoculture: improvement of the bacteriological quality of samples by direct verbal counseling before semen
P Boucher1, H Lejeune, M C Pinatel
1Hospices Civils de Lyon, France.
Objective:
To compare the bacteriologic quality of samples after direct verbal or written counseling for semen collection.
Design:
Prospective randomized comparative study.
Setting:
Laboratories of biology of reproduction and microbiology in university hospitals.
Patients:
Male partners of infertile couples on their first attempt to collect semen were assigned randomly into two groups.
Intervention:
In one group (n = 52) the patients were given direct verbal instruction by one of the investigators on how to avoid bacterial contamination during semen collection. In the other group (n = 52) the patients were asked to follow the usual written instructions.
Main Outcome Measure:
Bacterial count, number of species, classification of the samples in positive, negative, and noninformative cultures.
Results:
Direct verbal teaching significantly reduced the bacterial count (2.06 +/- 1.6 versus 3.29 +/- 1.6 log cfu/mL; mean +/- SD) and number of species (1.44 +/- 2.02 versus 3.25 +/- 2.25), increased the percentage of sterile cultures (59.6% versus 23.1%), and decreased the percentage of noninformative cultures (29.9% versus 50%).
Conclusion:
Direct verbal counseling on how to avoid bacterial contamination during semen collection significantly improves the bacteriologic quality of the samples.