Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33204888›Full record

ReviewHeliyon2020

The benefits of varicocele repair for achieving pregnancy in male infertility: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Ponco Birowo, William Tendi, Indah Suci Widyahening, Widi Atmoko, Nur Rasyid

Open access · goldAbstract readReview
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Review in Heliyon, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 23 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
23citing papers in PubMed, 4 pooled it
4.0field-weighted citation impact, top 6% 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

23 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 46 citations in OpenAlex.

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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

5 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Ponco BirowoDepartment of Urology, Faculty of Medicine Universitas Indonesia, Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital, Jakarta 10430, Indonesia.
William TendiDepartment of Urology, Faculty of Medicine Universitas Indonesia, Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital, Jakarta 10430, Indonesia.
Indah Suci WidyaheningDepartment of Community Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Indonesia, Jakarta Pusat 10430, Indonesia.
Widi AtmokoDepartment of Urology, Faculty of Medicine Universitas Indonesia, Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital, Jakarta 10430, Indonesia.
Nur RasyidDepartment of Urology, Faculty of Medicine Universitas Indonesia, Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital, Jakarta 10430, Indonesia.
University of Indonesia · ID

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionVaricocele is one of the most common treatable causes of male infertility. However, the decision to perform varicocelectomy before starting a fertility program remains controversial. This study aimed to thoroughly review and analyze the benefit of varicocele repair and its impact on the success rate of a fertility program. MATERIALS AND

methodsA systematic literature search was performed using MEDLINE, Cochrane Library, and Wiley Library. The primary outcome was the pregnancy rate, and the secondary outcomes were live birth rate and surgical sperm retrieval success rate. Outcomes were compared between men who underwent treatment for a varicocele and those that did not. The pooled analysis data are presented as odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals.

resultsA total of 31 articles were included in the meta-analysis. The pregnancy rate was significantly higher in the treated group (odds ratio = 1.82; 95% confidence interval: 1.37-2.41; P < 0.0001) along with the live birth rate (odds ratio = 2.80; 95% confidence interval: 1.67-4.72; P = 0.0001). The further subgroup analysis revealed a higher pregnancy rate in treated men with azoospermia, subnormal semen parameters, and normozoospermia (P = 0.04, P = 0.0005, and P = 0.002, respectively), while the live birth rate was only significantly higher in the treated men with subnormal semen parameters and normozoospermia (P = 0.001 and P < 0.0001). Treated varicocele also led to a higher sperm retrieval rate in azoospermic patients (odds ratio = 1.69; 95% confidence interval: 1.16-2.45; P = 0.006).

conclusionsVaricocele repair increased the pregnancy and live birth rates regardless the semen analysis result, along with the sperm retrieval success rate in azoospermic men. Thus, varicocele repair may be beneficial prior to joining a fertility program.

Indexed as

Evidence-based medicineFertility programLive birth ratePregnancy rateReproductive medicineReproductive systemSurgerySurgical sperm retrieval rateUrologyVaricocele repair

Identifiers

PMID33204888
PMCPMC7648199
OpenAlexW3095089645

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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.