Critical evaluation of the effectiveness of different modes of treatment of male infertility

Among cohorts of couples treated for infertility due to a male factor it is the effective cumulative rate of successful deliveries and the cost per delivery that must be considered in assessing the value of different modes of treatment. The 'wait and see', timed coitus, or counselling approach has a low success rate (about 15% in 12 months), and a relatively high cost per delivery because of the cost of control visits and of tests for the prediction of ovulation. The high success rate of varicocele treatment (35% in 12 months, between 60 and 80% after 24 months), and the moderate cost of retrograde venography and embolisation results in a low cost per delivery. This cost is the lowest in antioestrogen treatment of idiopathic oligozoospermia, with a 20-30% effective cumulative pregnancy rate in 6 months. Three months of intra-uterine insemination (IUI) of Percoll gradient selected spermatozoa has a higher effective cumulative success rate than conventional in vitro fertilization (IVF) applied in cases with similar sperm characteristics, and the cost per successful delivery of the former is eight times lower than that of the latter. Intracytoplasmic sperm injection can successfully be applied in cases with more severe sperm deficiency; it has a higher success rate than conventional IVF, and is slightly more cost-efficient. However, the effective cumulative pregnancy rate remains relatively low (about 45% in 12 months) because of the high drop-out rate and long time interval between treatment cycles among unsuccessful couples.