Table 2. Characteristics of OA men and NOA men with successful/unsuccessful sperm retrieval.
| Characteristic | OA men (n=5) | NOA men (n=32) | p-value | NOA men with successful sperm retrieval (n=16) | NOA men with unsuccessful sperm retrieval (n=16) | p-value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age (y) | 33.0 (29.5–47.0) | 36.0 (33.0–38.5) | 0.190 | 35.0 (32.5–40.5) | 36.0 (33.5–38.0) | 0.881 | |
| Right testis size (mL) | 22.0 (16.5–24.0) | 8.0 (5.5–15.0) | 0.003* | 7.0 (4.5–10.5) | 13.0 (7.0–16.5) | 0.054 | |
| Left testis size (mL) | 21.0 (17.0 –23.5) | 13.0 (7.0–15.0) | 0.002* | 8.0 (5.0–14.0) | 13.5 (9.0 –16.0) | 0.124 | |
| Medication prior to mTESE (%) | 0 (0.0) | 15 (46.9) | 0.067 | 9 (56.3) | 6 (37.5) | 0.480 | |
| Etiology (%) | |||||||
| Idiopathic | 0 (0.0) | 23 (71.9) | 0.005* | 9 (56.3) | 14 (87.5) | 0.113 | |
| Cryptorchidism | 0 (0.0) | 2 (6.3) | 1.000 | 1 (6.2) | 1 (6.2) | 1.000 | |
| Previous testicular cancer | 0 (0.0) | 2 (6.3) | 1.000 | 2 (12.5) | 0 (0.0) | 0.484 | |
| Previous mumps and orchitis | 0 (0.0) | 1 (3.1) | 1.000 | 1 (6.2) | 0 (0.0) | 1.000 | |
| Klinefelter, 47 XXY | 0 (0.0) | 1 (3.1) | 1.000 | 0 (0.0) | 1 (6.2) | 1.000 | |
| AZFc microdeletion | 0 (0.0) | 3 (9.3) | 1.000 | 3 (2.8) | 0 (0.0) | 0.226 | |
| Baseline serum endocrine levels | |||||||
| FSH (IU/L) | 3.6 (2.3–4.3) | 20.8 (12.9–28.8) | <0.001* | 24.4 (17.4) | 15.8 (12.5–27.4) | 0.147 | |
| LH (IU/L) | 6.0 (4.0–6.7) | 8.1 (5.8–15.2) | 0.038* | 12.5 (7.7) | 7.0 (5.6–8.1) | 0.080 | |
| Testosterone (ng/mL) | 3.9 (3.1–4.8) | 3.6 (2.7–4.8) | 0.638 | 3.7 (1.7) | 3.2 (2.1–5.5) | 0.298 | |
| Prolactin (ng/mL) | 8.9 (6.6–16.5) | 11.4 (8.3–15.2) | 0.258 | 11.5 (7.1) | 11.4 (8.7–14.0) | 0.952 | |
| Estradiol (pg/mL) | 26.9 (22.3–31.3) | 24 (14.2–33.1) | 0.465 | 23.9 (18.4) | 24.3 (14–31.5) | 0.920 | |
| Intratesticular endocrine levels | |||||||
| Testosterone (ng/mL) | 207.5 (151.6–307.8) | 1,871.9 (1,182.6–2,721.3) | <0.001* | 2,395.7 (1,495.1–3,060.1) | 1,876.0 (1,330.8–2,752.9) | 0.119 | |
| Androstenedione (ng/mL) | 1.9 (1.4–2.5) | 7.5 (3.6–10.8) | 0.008* | 6.8 (4.2–10.8) | 7.9 (2.6–13.1) | 0.912 | |
| 17-OHP (ng/mL) | 1.8 (1.0–2.4) | 15.1 (8.8–23.7) | <0.001* | 20.4 (12.5–28.4) | 10.8 (8.3–19.1) | 0.067 | |
| Progesterone (ng/mL) | 0.7 (0.6–3.4) | 1.3 (0.5–2.1) | 0.873 | 1.2 (0.8–2.1) | 1.5 (0.3–2.2) | 0.865 | |
| DHEA (ng/mL) | 2.0 (2.0–2.2) | 4.3 (1.8–10.6) | 0.162 | 4.6 (2.0–11.4) | 4.3 (1.5–10.6) | 0.779 | |
| CYP17A1 activity | |||||||
| 17-OHP/progesterone | 2.6 (0.4–4.0) | 16.1 (7.9–29.3) | 0.001* | 16.8 (11.6–26.5) | 10.8 (5.4–42.1) | 0.535 | |
| Androstenedione/17-OHP | 1.1 (1.0–2.0) | 0.4 (0.3–0.8) | 0.008* | 0.4 (0.3–0.7) | 0.5 (0.3–0.8) | 0.535 | |
| HSD17B3 activity | |||||||
| Testosterone/androstenedione | 114.0 (60.4–242.4) | 270.1 (179.1–395.6) | 0.035* | 311.7 (217.6–389.4) | 217.5 (165.0–415.9) | 0.373 | |
| HSD3B1/2 activity | |||||||
| Androstenedione/DHEA | 0.9 (0.6–1.2) | 1.5 (0.5–5.2) | 0.190 | 1.6 (0.5–4.2) | 1.4 (1.7–6.2) | 0.960 | |
Values are presented as median (interquartile range) and proportion (%).
OA: obstructive azoospermia, NOA: non-obstructive azoospermia, mTESE: microdissection testicular sperm extraction, FSH: follicle-stimulating hormone, LH: luteinizing hormone, 17-OHP: 17 hydroxyprogesterone, DHEA: dehydroepiandrosterone.
Statistically significant (*p<0.05).