Trauma Research Center, Nursing Faculty, Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Behavioral Sciences Research Center, Life style institute, Nursing Faculty, Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Adv Exp Med Biol. 2021;1321:335-342. doi: 10.1007/978-3-030-59261-5_30.
Theoretically, human testes are highly expressive organs for angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), the SARS-CoV-2 receptor. This study aimed to investigate whether the causative agent of COVID-19 is found in semen. The databases of PubMed/MEDLINE, Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar were searched using a combination of related keywords. All studies with original data, involving detection of SARS-CoV-2 in semen of male patients with COVID-19 or in those who have recovered from it, were included in the study. Six articles, including 136 samples, entered the systematic review. Most of the studies were performed in the recovery phase of COVID-19. In four articles, SARS-CoV-2 was not detected in semen, while in the other two articles semen testing showed the presence of the virus in some samples. Testicular discomfort, testicular cell damage, and spermogram disruption were also reported in some studies. We conclude that the study question cannot be answered with this number of studies. Since most of the samples were mild to moderate forms of COVID-19, it is not yet clear what the presence of the virus in semen will be in severe cases. The long-term effects are also vague. More original articles with better design and in different phases of the disease are needed to draw robust conclusions.
从理论上讲，人类睾丸是血管紧张素转换酶 2（ACE2）的高度表达器官，ACE2 是 SARS-CoV-2 的受体。本研究旨在调查 COVID-19 的病原体是否存在于精液中。使用相关关键词组合，在 PubMed/MEDLINE、Scopus、Web of Science 和 Google Scholar 数据库中进行了搜索。所有包含涉及检测 COVID-19 男性患者或已从 COVID-19 中康复的男性患者精液中是否存在 SARS-CoV-2 的原始数据的研究均被纳入本研究。六项研究，包括 136 个样本，进入了系统评价。大多数研究是在 COVID-19 的恢复期进行的。在四项研究中，精液中未检测到 SARS-CoV-2，而在另外两项研究中，精液检测显示一些样本中存在病毒。一些研究还报道了睾丸不适、睾丸细胞损伤和精液分析异常。我们的结论是，目前的研究数量无法回答这个问题。由于大多数样本为 COVID-19 的轻至中度形式，因此目前尚不清楚严重病例精液中病毒的存在情况。长期影响也不清楚。需要更多设计更好、处于疾病不同阶段的原始文章来得出可靠的结论。
