Immuno-bead test (IgG-IgA-IBT) in cervical mucus for the diagnosis of antisperm isoimmunization in female infertile patients with negative or doubtful PCT.

57 infertile women belonging to infertile couples with negative or doubtful PCT underwent the following tests: Sperm Cervical Mucus Contacts Test (SCMC-Test), IgG-IgA-Immuno-Bead Test (IgG-IgA-IBT) in cervical mucus, Micro Sperm Immobilizing Test (Micro-SIT) in cervical mucus and Sperm Immobilizing Test (SIT) in serum. Et least one of the tests gave a positive result in 49.1% of the patients examined and there was a significant difference between the SCMC-Test and the IgG-IgA-IBT: the former was positive in 26 out of 45 patients (57.7%), while the latter was positive in 13 cases (28.8%), (chi 2 = 6.48, p less than 0.05). On the other hand, there was no significant difference between the cervical mucus IgG-IgA-IBT, cervical mucus Micro-SIT and serum SIT; these were positive in respectively 14 (24.5%), 18 (31.5%) and 17 (29.8%) in the 57 patients who underwent all the tests at the same time. Three of the four cases with a mildly positive result of the cervical mucus IgG-IgA-IBT, where the beads were located at the tail-tip, showed negative results to all the other tests performed. Cervical mucus IgG-IgA-IBT is therefore a fairly specific method for the determination of antisperm isoantibodies in the cervical mucus as long as the assessment of those cases with low positivity and beads located mainly at the tail-tip is performed carefully. It is advisable in these patients to take into consideration the results of more classical tests such as cervical mucus Micro-SIT.