Comparacion de la eficiencia de espermatozoides frescos y criopreservados provenientes de pacientes azoospermicos obstructivos y secretores utilizando la tecnica de inyeccion intracitoplasmatica de un

Background: Use of frozen-thawed epididymal/testicular spermatozoa is a routine procedure in Assisted Reproduction Laboratories. The purpose of this study was to compare fresh and cryopreserved sperm efficiency in patients with obstructive and azoospermia when used in ICSI. Methods: Retrospective case analysis. Forty-eight (55.8%) and 38 (44.2%) out of 86 Obstructive Azoospermic Cycles (OAC) were performed using fresh (F) and cryopreserved (C) spermatozoa respectively. Seventy-one out of 109 (65.1%) Non-obstructive Azoospermic Cycles (SAC) using F sperm, were scheduled during the same period of time but only in 43 out of the 71 (60.6%) spermatozoa were found; in 38 out of 109 SAC (34.9%), a previously cryopreserved sample was used. Normal fertilization rate, embryo quality, implantation, clinical pregnancy and miscarriage rates were analyzed. Results: Females in F-SAC group were significantly younger than in C-SAC (30.87 ± 3.8 years vs. 32.5 ± 3.7 years, p= 0.039). Normal fertilization, pregnancy, implantation and miscarriage rates were not significantly different when F and C spermatozoa were used in obstructive and Non-obstructive azoospermic patients. Interestingly, embryos obtained from F-SAC presented significantly better morphology than those from C-SAC (72.8% vs. 49.6% Class III-IV embryos, p = 0.0032). Conclusion: The use of fresh or cryopreserved spermatozoa in obstructive and Non obstructive azoospermic patients, renders similar results in terms of fertilization, pregnancy, implantation and miscarriage rates.