[A preliminary study of pre-analysis quality control for semen analysis].
OBJECTIVE
To discuss how some pre-analysis processes influence the results of semen analysis and how to minimize their influence on the accuracy of laboratory results based on the concept of total quality management (TQM).


METHODS
We conducted semen quality analyses for 21 male volunteers, who had abstained from tobacco and alcohol for over 72 days for the purpose of fertilization, before and after the abstinence, and obtained their seminal parameters at 0.5, 1, 2 and 3 hours after semen sample collection.


RESULTS
Sperm concentration, sperm motility and the percentage of grade a + b sperm were significantly higher after the abstinence of tobacco and alcohol than before (P < 0.01). With the lengthening of post-ejaculation time, there was a significant decrease in sperm motility and the percentage of grade a + b sperm (P < 0.05), but not in sperm concentration (P > 0.05).


CONCLUSIONS
A lot of factors may affect the results of semen analysis, including the subjects' habits of drinking and smoking and the length of time after semen collection. Therefore, every procedure of semen analysis has to be dealt with very carefully so as to meet the requirements of TQM and achieve most reliable results for clinical use.
Ge
Yi-Feng
YF
Department of Andrology, PLA Institute of Clinical Laboratory Medicine, Nanjing General Hospital of Nanjing Military Region, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210002, China.
Wang
Chun-Hui
CH
Lu
Jin-Chun
JC
Shao
Yong
Y
Yao
Bing
B
Xia
Xin-Yi
XY
Shang
Xue-Jun
XJ
Huang
Yu-Feng
YF
D000328:Adult; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011786:Quality Control; D055101:Semen Analysis / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards*; D016540:Smoking Cessation; D013076:Sperm Count; D013081:Sperm Motility; D013695:Temperance