Reliability of testicular stiffness quantification using shear wave elastography in predicting male fertility: a preliminary prospective study

Aims: To evaluate the reliability of testicular stiffness quantification using shear wave elastography in predicting the fertility potential of males and for the pre-diagnosis of disorders based upon sperm quantification. Material and methods: One hundred males between the ages of 19-49 years (mean age of 28.77±6.11), ninety of whom with complaints of infertility, were enrolled in this prospective study. Scrotal grey-scale, Doppler ultrasound (US), and mean testicular shear wave velocity quantifications (SWVQs) were performed. The volumes of testes, as well as the grade of varicocele if present, were recorded. The mean shear wave velocity values (SWVVs) of each testis and a mean testicular SWVV for each patient were calculated. The semen-analyses of patients were consecutively performed. Results: There were significant negative correlations between the mean testicular SWVVs of patients and their sperm counts or the testis volumes (r=-0.399, r=-0.565; p