Objective
The last year has represented a challenging time for andrology laboratories due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Public health guidelines and government regulations intended to reduce the spread of COVID-19 caused a shift in patient practices across healthcare. They impacted the infertility laboratory by changing where and how semen samples are collected. The current study compared the quality of semen being collected for routine semen analysis (SA), and therapeutic IUI cycles, comparing the first year of the pandemic with the previous twelve-month period in a regional fertility center.
Materials and Methods
Institutional rules, public health guidelines, and government regulations required the majority (> 98%) of semen samples collected at a regional fertility center to be collected off-site starting March 18th, 2020. The center serves a catchment basin of approximately 300 miles in diameter, meaning some patients might travel for 1-2 hrs to deliver samples collected at home or have to make other arrangements for a collection location closer to the laboratory. To determine what impact the delay in processing and other factors, such as stress, might be having on semen quality, the center conducted a study comparing the standard semen parameters in two arms. The COVID-19 arm were patients seen from March 18th, 2020 to March 17th, 2021, and they were compared to the Pre-COVID-19 arm, who were seen from March 18th, 2019 to March 17th, 2020. Semen Analysis parameters analyzed for all samples included volume, concentration/mL, motility, morphology, total concentration, and total motile concentration. IUI samples were also analyzed for post-wash total concentration and total motile concentration. Resulting Data were compared using student’s T-test.
Results
A total of 423 SA and 378 IUI records were compared. As expected, off-site collection significantly increased the time from collection to completion of the procedure (P < 0.001). Numerous semen parameters of the standard semen analysis were 10-20% lower in the pandemic year when collecting off-site than the same parameter in the 12 months before the pandemic when on-site collection was used. Focusing on IUI data, the average processing time from collection to finish increased 26 to 48 mins (p < 0.006). Average Total motile sperm has decreased from 49 to 42 million (14%; P < 0.05) between groups. Pregnancy data is pending.
Conclusions
The pandemic has presented challenges to all reproductive centers. The challenges appear to have had a negative effect on the overall semen quality of patients. While it is unclear how much of an impact delays in processing are having, the data is highly suggestive they are impacting patient treatment.
Impact Statement
While delivery of reproductive health care continued during the pandemic, changes in public health guidelines and governmental regulations have impacted patient care thereby causing a reduction in semen quality. Public health officials and practices may need to reevaluate how semen samples are collected for diagnostics and treatment to mitigate this reduction in quality while maintaining the overall health of patients and staff.
O-154 11:30 AM Tuesday, October 19, 2021
Footnotes
SUPPORT: None