Supplementary Table 3.
Reasons for exclusion of studies from the analysis
| Author | Reasons |
|---|---|
| Acosta et al. 199243 | Baseline conventional sperm parameters of the treated group were not described |
| Bartoov et al. 199448 | Prospective study FSH was administered for 30 days Not all infertile patients had oligozoospermia |
| Iacono et al. 199644 | Not-controlled and not-randomized study |
| Merino et al. 199652 | Not-controlled and not-randomized study |
| Matorras et al. 199749 | Not all infertile patients had oligozoospermia Idiopathic infertility was not an inclusion criterion This study also included patients with a known cause of infertility |
| Strehler et al. 19977 | Observational study |
| Kamischke et al. 199826 | Hypogonadism was not among the inclusion criteria and some patients underwent to testosterone esters before FSH treatment 10/67 patients underwent to testicular biopsies whose results are not detailed. The selection of patients with maturation arrest may represent a study bias |
| Radicioni et al. 199940 | Prospective study The study was conducted in patients with left varicocele Patients did not have oligozoospermia |
| Arnaldi et al. 200027 | Observational study |
| Dirnfeld et al. 200046 | Retrospective study FSH and hCG were concomitantly administered Idiopathic infertility was not an inclusion criterion This study also included patients with a known cause of infertility |
| Foresta et al. 200042 | Not-controlled and not-randomized study Idiopathic infertility was not an inclusion criterion This study also included patients with a known cause of infertility |
| Zarilli et al. 200041 | This study was conducted on varicocelectomized patients |
| Caroppo et al. 200345 | This study included patients with high FSH levels. Indeed, they ranged from 1.6 to 27 mIU ml−1 |
| Fernández-Arjona et al. 200328 | Observational study |
| Baccetti et al. 20048 | The data are not meta-analyzable (the results are shown neither as the mean±s.d. nor as the mean±s.e.m.) |
| Paradisi et al. 200647 | This cohort of patients was included in the study by Paradisi et al. 2014 |
| Efesoy et al. 200950 | Not-controlled and not-randomized study Total motile sperm count was the outcome Sperm concentration, total sperm count, sperm motility, and morphology were not detailed |
| Piomboni et al. 200951 | Not-controlled and not-randomized study Not all infertile patients had oligozoospermia Idiopathic infertility was not an inclusion criterion This study also included patients with a known cause of infertility The outcome was sperm aneuploidy rate |
| Palomba et al. 201129 | Baseline-controlled observational study |
| Condorelli et al. 20149 | Observational study |
| Paradisi et al. 201430 | Not-randomized placebo-controlled trial |
| Casamonti et al. 201710 | Not-controlled and not-randomized study The outcome was hyaluronic acid binding rate Sperm concentration, total sperm count, sperm motility, and morphology were not detailed |
| Garolla et al. 201711 | Observational study Varicocele was not among the exclusion criteria. Therefore, its presence or absence in the included patients could not be ascertained |
s.d.: standard deviation; s.e.m.: standard error of the mean; FSH: follicle-stimulating hormone; hCG: human chorionic gonadotropin