ABSTRACT
Background: Although semen analysis is a basic method to evaluate male fertility, there was a certain deviation between the semen examination and the actual situation in clinical application. Objective: To evaluate the application value of semen examination items in the diagnosis of male infertility. Method: Males recruited from the Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University from June 2017 to December 2018 were divided into three groups: normal fertility group, physical examination group (premarital physical examination), and male infertility group. Each group received the following examination such as semen analysis (including semen volume, sperm concentration, progressive motility, total motility, round cell concentration), acrosin activity, and sperm morphology. All the semen analysis items mentioned above were operated according to the WHO laboratory manual for the examination and procession of human semen (Fifth edition) and related documents. Results: The normal fertility group and physical examination group showed significantly higher levels in sperm concentration, progressive motility, total motility, and sperm morphology than those in the male infertility group (P < 0.05); both the normal fertility group and the physical examination group have a higher qualified rate in sperm concentration, progressive motility, total motility and sperm morphology than the male infertility group, all P < 0.001. The percentage of patients having all qualified items in each group was 28.13%, 6.67%, and 6.51% separately. Conclusion: The diagnosis efficiency was higher in sperm concentration, progressive motility, total motility, and sperm morphology than in other semen examination items. A more objective and efficient method of semen examination should be explored to facilitate the diagnoses of male infertility in the future.