Correlation between adjusted late spermatid score and sperm count in normozoospermic and oligozoospermic men

Objective To correlate late spermatid score and sperm count in men with normal semen analysis and oligozoospermia undergoing intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) to set the average threshold of spermatids/tubule of testicular tissue needed for normal sperm count/ml of semen. Material and methods This study was conducted on 24 normozoospermic subjects and 18 oligozoospermic patients who underwent wide bore needle biopsy because of failed sperm collection at the day of ICSI. Clinical data were reviewed and testicular biopsy slides were examined for Johnson score and adjusted late spermatid score. Results The optimum cut off value for adjusted late spermatid score in predicting a sperm count >20 million/ml was 20.75 late spermatid per tubule with 100% specificity. Model equations were produced to predict the sperm count using adjusted late spermatid score and vice versa. Conclusion This work supports the hypothesis that late spermatid score is a simple and reliable method for quantitation of spermatogenesis and it correlates well with the sperm count. The value of late spermatids needed for normal sperm count in this report is different from some other reports. The better standardization of work in this study may help resetting a new late spermatid threshold for normal sperm count.