Pregnancy outcome after IUI for male and idiopathic infertility using a new simplified method for sperm preparation

sting by E Abstract Introduction: Intrauterine insemination (IUI) is a valid treatment for infertility with a cumulative pregnancy rate of 40–90% after 3–10 treatment cycles. Design: We prospectively studied the efficacy of a new simplified method for motile sperm preparation for IUI for both male causes of infertility, and for those diagnosed with idiopathic infertility. Methods: A prospective clinical trial was performed with 200 couples, with a 2–8 years history of primary infertility. One hundred couples had been diagnosed as idiopathic, while another 100 couples with male factors of infertility. Motile sperm for IUI was prepared by: (A) the classic World Health Organization self-migration (swim-up) method which includes centrifugation, or (B) the proposed simplified swim-up procedure without centrifugation. Both anti-estrogens and HMG had been used for ovarian stimulation. Depending on the cause of infertility, patients were matched one-to-one at the time of IUI, so that when a total of 100 couples had been treated of both causes of infertility, 50/100 women received sperm prepared by method A and 50/100 by method B. Results: A statistically significant correlation was found between the percentage motile sperm of the original semen sample and the percentage of motile sperm recovered by method A (r 0.333, P < 0.01) and B (r = 0.400, P < 0.01). A highly significant correlation (r = 0.997, P < 0.001)