Causes and treatment of male infertility

In general, without contraception, couples of childbearing age have an average of 25% chance of pregnancy per menstrual cycle, 50% chance of pregnancy within 3 months, 72% chance within 6 months, and 80-85% chance within 12 months. The possibility of infertility should be considered if the spouse fails to conceive after more than one year of regular sexual intercourse without contraception after marriage. The incidence is about 10% of couples of childbearing age. The factors affecting male fertility are complex and varied, including: inflammation, injury, malformation of testes and epididymis, varicocele, prostate disease, erectile dysfunction, ejaculatory dysfunction, other underlying diseases and related medication. External factors such as wearing tight underwear, taking sauna, heavy metal pollution, decoration material pollution, radiation exposure, pesticide, preservative intake, smoking, alcoholism, etc. There are also endocrine system and psychological factors that may affect male fertility. The fertility process should be natural and should not be overly concerned or too utilitarian, which may affect conception. Both male and female endocrine may be affected by psychological factors, such as excessive psychological stress, which may lead to endocrine dysfunction. Some people are normal after detailed examination, but they are infertile for a long time, so they should relax. Male infertility patients should examine the external genitalia to clarify the presence of external urethral stricture, hypospadias, etc. The scrotum needs to be noted for normal testicles, epididymis, vas deferens, and spermatic veins. If necessary, the prostate gland, seminal vesicles and ejaculatory ducts should also be examined to clarify whether the vas deferens is open. Semen is the most important test related to male fertility and should be a mandatory item. If there are problems with semen, further examination of the urinary tract, scrotal ultrasound, hormone levels, seminal plasma biochemistry, semen exfoliation cytology, karyotype and Y chromosome microdeletion can be decided on a case-by-case basis. Treatment should be individualized for each person. Overall, there are several types of treatment: 1. Conventional treatment, such as lifestyle modification, change of bad habits, improvement of daily environment and diet. The vast majority of patients with infertility are first treated with medication, and because of the complexity of the causes of infertility, a variety of drugs are generally used in combination, and the treatment plan is adjusted according to the semen situation after medication. Generally 2-3 months a course of treatment, too short a time is due to the spermatogenic cycle on sperm improvement is not obvious. Empirical medication is generally used for no more than one year. 3. Surgical treatment is found to improve fertility for causes requiring surgical treatment such as cryptorchidism, varicocele, obstructive azoospermia, etc.