Value of ultrasound in the etiological diagnosis of azoospermia

Abstract

Objective: To explore the application value of ultrasound in the etiological diagnosis of azoospermia.Methods: Three hundred and fourteen consecutive cases of azoospermia diagnosed in our hospital from January 1, 2015 to December 31, 2021 were retrospectively analyzed, and their clinical data and ultrasonic examination results were summarized and analyzed. Results: Among 314 patients, 118 (37.6%) had obstructive azoospermia (OA) and 196 (62.4%) had non obstructive azoospermia (NOA). Among OA patients, 89% (105 cases) showed positive ultrasound findings, including congenital bilateral vas deferens absence (40 cases), ejaculatory duct obstruction(33 cases), inflammatory lesions(17 cases), and calcified lesions (15 cases); Among 196 patients with NOA, 40.3% (79 cases) had positive ultrasound findings, including small testis (45 cases), cryptorchidism (13 cases), testicular microlithiasis (16 cases), and varicocele (5 cases). Conclusions: Among the 314 patients with azoospermia in this study, the ratio of NOA to OA is 1.66:1. Ultrasound examination is able to identify the etiology of 58.6% of the patients, including 89% of the causes of OA and 40.3% of the causes of NOA.

Keywords

• |ultrasonography|obstructive azoospermia|non-obstructive azoospermia