Validity and cost-effectiveness of antisperm antibody testing before in vitro fertilization

To determine the usefulness of and cost-effectiveness of antisperm antibody testing in the prediction of poor fertilization rates in couples undergoing IVF.

Retrospective cohort study.

A hospital-based reproductive endocrinology and infertility practice.

Male partners of 251 couples undergoing IVF between 1992 and 1997.

Fertilization rates in couples undergoing conventional IVF.

One hundred nineteen couples were evaluated for antisperm antibodies; fertilization rates were similar in those couples whose husbands were and were not tested (64% versus 68%). Antisperm antibodies were detected in 16 men. Four (25%) of the 16 couples whose husbands had antisperm antibodies fertilized < or = 50% of oocytes, compared with 31 (30%) of the 103 couples whose husbands did not have these antibodies. Overall, 21 couples (8.4%) experienced complete fertilization failure. In a program that included antisperm antibody testing for selected couples and intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) for those who tested positive, it would cost $11,735 to prevent a fertilization failure (assuming ICSI were 100% effective), whereas it would cost $9,250 to perform ICSI in a second IVF cycle for those who initially failed.

In this practice setting, antisperm antibody testing has low sensitivity in predicting low or no fertilization and does not appear to be cost-effective when selectively ordered as part of an IVF workup.