Evidence map›Paper›PMID 23658861›Full record

ArticleThe world journal of men's health2013

Current issues in varicocele management: a review.

Woo Suk Choi, Soo Woong Kim

Open access · diamondAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in The world journal of men's health, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 31 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
31citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
11.2field-weighted citation impact, top 2% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

31 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 91 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Surgical or radiological treatment for varicoceles in subfertile men.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2021
    Pooled it
  3. Article
  4. Risk factors associated with varicocele: a narrative review.Translational andrology and urology · 2025
    Review
  5. Article
  6. Association between body mass index and varicocele among 211 989 Chinese reproductive-age males.International journal of urology : official journal of the Japanese Urological Association · 2022
    Article
  7. Role of Oxidative Stress in Varicocele.Frontiers in genetics · 2022
    Review
  8. Article
  9. Article
  10. Article
  11. Review
  12. Genetics and epigenetics of varicocele pathophysiology: an overview.Journal of assisted reproduction and genetics · 2017
    Review
  13. Article
  14. Article
  15. Treatment effect of TUSPLV on recurrent varicocele.Experimental and therapeutic medicine · 2017
    Article
  16. Effects of varicocelectomy on serum testosterone.Translational andrology and urology · 2016
    Review
  17. Leg ischemia post-varicocelectomy.International medical case reports journal · 2016
    Article
  18. Article
  19. Effects ofEvidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM · 2016
    Article
  20. Observational
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

2 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Woo Suk ChoiDepartment of Urology, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
Soo Woong Kim
Seoul National University Hospital · KR

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The most common cause of male infertility is varicocele, and varicocele is the most common correctable cause of male factor infertility. In this article we reviewed the concept of varicocele in terms of its diagnosis, method of treatment, indications for treatment, treatment outcomes, and prognostic factors. Physical examination is an essential diagnostic tool in the evaluation of a patient with a varicocele. However, as it depends on subjective findings, standardization of the physical examination method is needed. Various methods for treatment of varicocele exist, including open surgical, laparoscopic, microscopic surgical, and radiologic treatment such as embolization. Among these treatment approaches, microscopic inguinal or subinguinal varicocelectomy has superior outcomes, with a low complication rate. The influence of the treatment of varicocele on fertility is still a controversial issue and a difficult question to address, because there are limitations to performing a randomized control study, and previous studies had a heterogeneity of subjects and high dropout rate. However, there is robust evidence that varicocelectomy improves semen parameters as a surrogate marker of the potential for fertility. To date, general indications for treatment of varicocele are limited in patients with proven infertility, clinical palpable varicocele, and abnormal semen characteristics. Recently, it was shown that some symptoms other than infertility could be an indication for varicocelectomy because these symptoms are frequently related to deterioration of semen parameters. Varicocele in the adolescent presents a more difficult decision regarding whether to treat. A testicular size discrepancy of more than 20% is helpful for treatment decisions. Various prognostic factors were noted in several studies without, however, a consistent consensus.

Indexed as

Infertility, maleVaricoceleVaricocelectomy

Identifiers

PMID23658861
PMCPMC3640148
OpenAlexW2081983903

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.