Table 1.
Summary of the studies included and their quality assessment
| Source | Study design | Number of patients/controls | Intervention(s) | Treatment of the control group | FSH serum levels before therapy (mIU ml−1), mean±s.d. | Outcomes | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colacurci et al. 201221 |
RCT | 65/64 | rhFSH 100 IU on alternate days | Nonantioxidant vitamin supplements | 5.9±1.3 | Sperm concentration and count, sperm forward motility, sperm morphology |
Moderate |
| Ding et al. 201522 |
RCT | 272/82 | hpFSH 50 IU on alternate days; hpFSH 100 IU on alternate days; hpFSH 200 IU on alternate days; hpFSH 300 IU on alternate days |
Placebo | 4.8±1.9 | Sperm concentration and count, sperm forward motility, sperm morphology |
High |
| Foresta et al. 199818 |
RCT | 60/30 | hpFSH 75 IU on alternate days | Placebo | 3.4±1.1 | Sperm concentration and count, sperm forward motility, sperm morphology |
High |
| Foresta et al. 200219 |
RCT | 30/15 | rhFSH 50 IU on alternate days; rhFSH 100 IU on alternate days |
No treatment | 4.1±2.2 | Sperm concentration, sperm forward motility, sperm morphology |
High |
| Foresta et al. 200520 |
RCT | 62/50 | rhFSH 100 IU on alternate days | No treatment | 4.6±1.2 | Sperm concentration | High |
FSH: follicle-stimulating hormone; GRADE: Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation; hpFSH: highly purified FSH; RCT: randomized controlled trial; rhFSH: recombinant FSH; s.d.: standard deviation