Six issues that should be addressed in male infertility diagnosis and treatment

Along with the progress and development of the society, the serious reproductive status of human beings is also in front of us. According to the data, at present, there are about 230 million couples of childbearing age in China, and the incidence of infertility is 8-10%, i.e., about 10 million couples of childbearing age have fertility problems, of which the male factor accounts for 30-50%. In recent years, many cities in China have seen the emergence of reproductive centers, men’s centers or men’s hospitals, which provide good conditions for the diagnosis and treatment of male infertility patients, but it also brings a lot of problems, for example, the level of different hospitals and their practitioners varies, and there is no lack of fish-eye mixers. Male infertility patients need to pay attention to the following six major problems in the process of diagnosis and treatment: First, choose the regular specialist hospitals and specialists is the key to diagnosis and treatment Infertile couples due to the urgent need to solve the problem of childbearing, many times confused, there are often blindly seeking medical treatment, and some people only watch television and newspaper advertisements, seeking medical treatment everywhere or buying the so-called “miracle drug”, the end result is likely to be very good. Some people only look at television and newspaper advertisements, seek medical treatment or buy the so-called “miracle cure”, the end result is likely to be people and money, or counterproductive treatment results, and even missed the best time for treatment. The current social status quo in China is: the more difficult to treat the disease, the more so-called experts and famous doctors, advertising and publicity is also the most powerful, the status quo of the diagnosis and treatment of male infertility is also the same! Many so-called professional male hospitals or male centers in today’s society make a lot of infertility patients be deceived and cheated by virtue of false medical advertisements. Therefore, choosing a regular specialized hospital and specialist is the first and most critical step in the diagnosis and treatment. Second, standardized and systematic specialist examination is the prerequisite and guarantee of treatment First, there is an examination, before talking about the treatment, which is the most basic knowledge of disease treatment, but in the clinical diagnosis and treatment of male infertility, this common sense has been ignored and weakened. The most common situation is: just based on a simple semen analysis report card, many doctors prescribe medication to patients, and the treatment effect can be imagined. Standardized and systematic specialist examination includes: comprehensive and truthful medical history inquiry, serious and detailed specialist physical examination, accurate semen quality analysis (including sperm function test), immunological test, sex hormone measurement, genetic analysis and pathology analysis, etc. On this basis, it is possible to make a diagnosis of infertility. On this basis, it is possible to make a comprehensive analysis and evaluation of the infertility patient’s condition, and help formulate a reasonable treatment plan. Third, as far as possible to clarify the cause of infertility and targeted treatment It is well known that only specific treatment for the cause of the disease can achieve good results. For infertility patients, the known causes of disease should be standardized treatment. For example, varicocele, inflammation of the genitourinary system, endocrine abnormalities, etc., for the cause of the treatment can get better clinical results. It should be noted that before deciding on a treatment plan, it should be clarified whether the infertility is absolute infertility (i.e., unable to bear children) or relative infertility (low fertility, with the possibility of childbearing)? Is it primary or secondary infertility? Are there concurrent infertility factors in both spouses? All of these factors may affect the prognosis. In addition, there are many factors that affect male infertility, and each patient’s specific situation is very different, so the choice of treatment plan should be individualized and differentiated. The majority of patients with male infertility do not have a clear cause, except for some patients who may have a relatively obvious cause. Despite the fact that most of the causes are unknown, it is still possible to improve the fertility of patients through empirical treatment with certain medications. So far, many empirical treatments do play a potential therapeutic role, but the treatment of male infertility is still difficult overall. Fourth, according to the spouse’s situation to choose a reasonable treatment plan The biggest diagnostic and treatment misunderstanding of male infertility is to ignore the understanding and analysis of the spouse’s situation, this kind of mistake often occurs in the clinic. Fertility is actually the result of the joint efforts of both men and women, one is indispensable, ignoring any party, may greatly affect the treatment effect. Before choosing a reasonable treatment plan, it is necessary to conduct a comprehensive analysis of the situation of the spouse, including age, the status of the menstrual cycle, the presence or absence of ovulation, the smoothness of the fallopian tubes, as well as the treatment plan that is currently being taken or is proposed to be taken, and so on. Only when the factors of both men and women are taken into consideration, the treatment plan formulated on this basis may be scientific and reasonable. Fifth, the choice of treatment program follows the simple to complex, economic to expensive, non-invasive, minimally invasive to invasive, infertility is a refractory disease, but not a fatal disease, therefore, should first try a simple, economic, non-invasive or minimally invasive method of treatment, which is a wise choice, but also today’s choice of treatment methods for all diseases of the common trend. Lifestyle modifications, medications, or surgical methods of treatment to obtain a natural pregnancy should be used whenever possible in the clinic. If all these attempts fail, or after examination that conventional treatment methods are ineffective, only then consider choosing assisted reproductive technology to help pregnancy. Sixth, timely acceptance of assisted reproductive technology to help pregnancy Assisted reproductive technology mainly includes artificial insemination technology (husband sperm or sperm donor), conventional in vitro fertilization – embryo transfer (commonly known as the first generation of IVF), intracytoplasmic single sperm microinjection technology (commonly known as the second generation of IVF) and preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD). Over the past 30 years, assisted reproductive technology has gained rapid development, helping many infertile couples who have failed to use conventional treatments to solve their fertility problems. In particular, the birth of intracytoplasmic sperm microinjection (ICSI) in 1992 is considered a milestone in the treatment of male infertility. Theoretically, as long as a man has a single live sperm, he can obtain his own offspring through this technique, which is the most effective treatment for patients with intractable infertility. For male infertility patients, if conventional treatment fails to achieve the expected results, they should receive assisted reproductive technology treatment under the guidance of professional male doctors in order to realize their fertility wishes.