Diagnostic value of the zona-free hamster oocyte penetration test and sperm movement characteristics in oligozoospermia

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Abstract
A group of 27 oligozoospermic patients were folloved up for 4.2 ± 1.1 years in a prospective study designed to determine which aspects of semen quality are of value in the diagnosis of fertility. The semen analysis included the zona‐free hamster oocyte penetration test, the assessment of sperm movement characteristics by time exposure photomicrography and a conventional semen profile. During the follow up period, 7 patients (25.9%) initiated a pregnancy. The identity of these fertile subjects could not have been ascertained by any single criterion of sperm movement or any feature of the conventional semen profile. The zona‐free hamster egg penetration rates were also of little value in this respect since 4 of the 7 fertile patients scored 0% in this assay. Using a multivariate discriminant analysis, however, a combination of 7 criteria was identified, including hamster oocyte penetration and elements of both sperm movement and the semen profile, which could predict the fertility of these patients with 85.2% accuracy.