title: Screening for bacterial pathogens in semen samples from infertile men with and without leukocytospermia.
abstract: We aimed to study the correlation between leukocyte counts in semen and bacterial pathogens in seminal samples of infertile men, and to establish the minimum leukocyte count associated with significant bacteriospermia. A total of 116 patients who underwent evaluation of fertility were investigated using routine semen analysis according to the guidelines of the WHO and bacterial pathogens analysis by culture and in-house PCR assay. The overall prevalence of bacteriospermia in semen samples was 56.9% independent of the presence of leukocytes. The most common bacterial species detected were Chlamydia trachomatis (41.4%), Ureaplasma urealyticum (15.5%) and Mycoplasma hominis (10.3%). The receiver operating characteristic curve analysis demonstrated that the sensitivity/specificity for detecting bacteria at a cut off level of >or=1 x 10(6) leukocytes per ml (which is the WHO defined level for leukocytospermia) was 20.3%/81.5%. The highest sensitivity/specificity ratio was found in semen samples with a cut-off level of >or=0.275 x 10(6) leukocytes per ml, which is best shown with the odds ratio of 2.47. A significant correlation was found between bacteriospermia and leukocytospermia at the cut-off level of >or=0.275 x 10(6) leukocytes per ml of semen samples (P = 0.032). We proposed that this is a possible new cut-off level to predict the presence of bacteria in semen of infertile men.
authors: Department of Microbiology and Research Laboratory Microorganismes et Pathologie Humaine, Habib Bourguiba Hospital, Sfax, Tunisia. gdourar@yahoo.com
authors: R
authors: R
authors: Gdoura
authors: W
authors: W
authors: Kchaou
authors: A
authors: A
authors: Znazen
authors: N
authors: N
authors: Chakroun
authors: M
authors: M
authors: Fourati
authors: L
authors: L
authors: Ammar-Keskes
authors: A
authors: A
authors: Hammami
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002690:Chlamydia Infections / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology; D002692:Chlamydia trachomatis / Q000472:pathogenicity; D006801:Humans; D007248:Infertility, Male / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000473:pathology; D007962:Leukocytes / Q000473:pathology*; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000379:methods*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009175:Mycoplasma Infections / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology; D019535:Mycoplasma hominis / Q000472:pathogenicity; D012661:Semen / Q000166:cytology / Q000382:microbiology*; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D016869:Ureaplasma Infections / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology; D016990:Ureaplasma urealyticum / Q000472:pathogenicity; D014944:World Health Organization