Hsiao Fu-Yin, Huang William J, Chen Kuang-Kuo
Division of Urology, Department of Surgery, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Department of Urology, School of Medicine, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC.
J Androl. 2011 Mar-Apr;32(2):155-8. doi: 10.2164/jandrol.109.009548. Epub 2010 Sep 9.
Couples with male factor disorders can have their own biologic offspring nowadays via in vitro fertilization or intracytoplasmic sperm injection technologies. Because infertile couples commonly seek treatment options through public Web sites on the Internet, an appropriate exposure of urologic opinions on male factor infertility is important. It was therefore of interest to survey the extent of urologists' exposure on the official Web sites of the assisted reproductive technology (ART) centers. We surveyed the official Web sites of all 74 qualified ART centers in Taiwan. Web sites of these centers were evaluated for their information on male factor infertility and varicoceles, especially treatment suggestions for varicocele and attitudes toward urologist referral. Among the 74 centers, only 69 had established official Web sites. Forty-eight Web sites (69.6%) provided information regarding infertility, whereas only 42 Web sites (60.9%) mentioned male factor infertility and 23 (33.3%) had descriptions of varicoceles. The quantity and quality of disclosed information varied, 11 (15.9%) sites provided treatment opinions for varicocele, and only 4 (5.8%) supported surgical intervention. Most Web sites of ART centers in Taiwan had content on male factor infertility, but the vast majority did not mention urologist referral or varicocele treatment. Urologists' opinions are relatively less exposed on the Web sites of fertility services. Further efforts should be made by urologists to provide comprehensive information to the public and to reinforce the importance of urologist referral in male factor infertility.
如今，患有男性因素疾病的夫妇可以通过体外受精或卵胞浆内单精子注射技术拥有自己的亲生后代。由于不孕夫妇通常通过互联网上的公共网站寻求治疗方案，因此适当公开泌尿科医生对男性因素不孕症的看法很重要。因此，调查泌尿科医生在辅助生殖技术（ART）中心官方网站上的曝光程度很有意义。我们调查了台湾所有74家合格ART中心的官方网站。对这些中心的网站进行评估，看其是否有关于男性因素不孕症和精索静脉曲张的信息，特别是精索静脉曲张的治疗建议以及对泌尿科医生转诊的态度。在这74个中心中，只有69个建立了官方网站。48个网站（69.6%）提供了有关不孕症的信息，而只有42个网站（60.9%）提到了男性因素不孕症，23个（33.3%）对精索静脉曲张有描述。所披露信息的数量和质量各不相同，11个（15.9%）网站提供了精索静脉曲张的治疗意见，只有4个（5.8%）支持手术干预。台湾ART中心的大多数网站都有关于男性因素不孕症的内容，但绝大多数都没有提到泌尿科医生转诊或精索静脉曲张治疗。泌尿科医生的意见在生育服务网站上的曝光相对较少。泌尿科医生应进一步努力向公众提供全面信息，并加强泌尿科医生转诊在男性因素不孕症中的重要性。
