title: Varicocele among infertile men in Qatar.
abstract: Objective of this retrospective study was to assess the presence and clinical grade of varicocele among Qatari and non-Qatari men evaluated for infertility. Diagnosis of varicocele was performed clinically and confirmed via colour Doppler ultrasonography. A total of 455 infertile male patients (mean age 36.3 ± 7.6 years) were divided into either Qatari (n = 91, mean age 37.3 ± 9.1 years) or non-Qatari (n = 364, mean age 36.0 ± 7.1 years) groups. Among all patients, 43.1% (n = 196) were confirmed to have varicocele, of which 40 were Qatari and 156 non-Qatari. Among all patients, 171 (37.6%) presented with left-sided varicocele and 25 (5.5%) with bilateral varicocele. Of the 196 patients with varicocele, grade I was given to 40 (20.4%), grade II to 68 (34.7%) and grade III to 88 (44.9%). Grade II and III varicocele were seen significantly more frequently than grade I among all patients and non-Qatari patients (p < .05). Grade II varicocele was seen more frequently than grades I or III among Qatari patients, but difference was not significant. Grade III was seen significantly more frequently than grade I among patients with secondary infertility (p < .05). Varicocele is an important health issue in Qatar among both Qatari and non-Qatari men.
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: ElBardisi
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar.|Department of Andrology, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Arafa
authors.affiliation: American Center for Reproductive Medicine, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH, USA.
authors.forename: A K
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Rengan
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, MARA University of Technology, Sungai Buloh, Malaysia.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Durairajanayagam
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar.
authors.forename: S S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: AlSaid
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Khalafalla
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: AlRumaihi
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH, USA.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Majzoub
authors.affiliation: American Center for Reproductive Medicine, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH, USA.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Agarwal
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D006801:Humans; D007248:Infertility, Male / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011780:Qatar / Q000453:epidemiology; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D018615:Ultrasonography, Doppler, Color; D014646:Varicocele / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*
keywords: Qatar; frequency; grade; male infertility; varicocele