Does varicocele grade determine extent of alteration to spermatogenesis in adolescents?

OBJECTIVE

To determine whether grade of varicocele determines extent of alterations to semen quality in adolescents.

DESIGN

Prospective study.

SETTING

Patients recruited from a local public school.

PATIENT(S): Adolescents (14 to 18 y of age) attending a local public school.

INTERVENTION(S): Scrotal palpation in a temperature-controlled room, testicular volume assessment with a Prader orchidometer, and semen analysis according to World Health Organization guidelines, with morphology by Kruger's strict criteria.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Presence, and grade, or absence of varicocele; testicular volume (assessed with a Prader orchidometer); semen analysis results; and prevalence of testicular asymmetry.

RESULT(S): Among the adolescents, 27.8% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 23.2, 32.4) presented varicocele grades II and III, and 7.8% (95% CI: 5.0, 10.6) presented with a grade III varicocele. There was a high prevalence of testicular asymmetry in adolescents with left grade II (41.7%) and III varicocele (51.9%), whereas adolescents without varicocele showed very low testicular asymmetry (11.0%). Testicular asymetry was significantly less prevalent in adolescents without varicocele. Sperm progressive motility and concentration were lower in the two varicocele groups but were not different according to grade. However, the total number of progressively motile sperm in the ejaculate was lower in the varicocele grade II and III groups, and patients with varicocele grade III presented lower values than those with grade II.

CONCLUSION(S): Grades II and III varicocele cause a decrease in testicular volume and in semen quality that is independent of grade, but when assessing the total number of progressively motile sperm in the ejaculate, grade III varicoceles place these adolescents very close to the World Health Organization cutoff rate, and thus, current guidelines for treating the adolescent varicocele may need to be revised.