Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33382370›Full record

ArticleCanadian Urological Association journal = Journal de l'Association des urologues du Canada2021

Evaluation of a serum 17-hydroxyprogesterone as a predictor of semen parameter improvement in men undergoing medical treatment for infertility.

Thiago Fernandes Negris Lima, Evgeniya Rakitina, Ruben Blachman-Braun, Ranjith Ramasamy

Open access · diamondAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Canadian Urological Association journal = Journal de l'Association des urologues du Canada, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
9citing papers in PubMed
1.1field-weighted citation impact, top 20% 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

9 citing papers in PubMed, 10 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Effectiveness of clomiphene citrate on total motile sperm count and hormonal profile in men with clinical infertility.Canadian Urological Association journal = Journal de l'Association des urologues du Canada · 2026
    Article
  2. Review
  3. Review
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. Article
  7. Article
  8. Review
  9. Article
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

4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Thiago Fernandes Negris LimaDepartment of Urology, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, United States.
Evgeniya RakitinaDepartment of Urology, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, United States.
Ruben Blachman-BraunDepartment of Urology, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, United States.
Ranjith RamasamyDepartment of Urology, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, United States.
University of Miami · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionThe goal of medical therapy for infertile men with testosterone deficiency (TD) is to improve intratesticular testosterone (ITT). There is a gap in knowledge to identify those who will respond with semen parameter(s) improvement. We hypothesized that serum 17-hydroxyprogesterone (17-OHP) - a marker of ITT - can be used to predict improvement of semen parameter(s).

methodsBetween July 2018 and January 2020, we conducted a prospective study of 31 men with primary infertility, TD, and secondary hypogonadism receiving clomiphene citrate (CC) and/or human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) for three months. We assessed baseline and followup hormones, including testosterone, 17-OHP, semen parameter(s), and demographics. Semen quality upgrading was based on assisted reproduction eligibility: in-vitro fertilization (<5 million), intrauterine insemination (IUI) (5-9 million), and natural pregnancy (>9 million). Variables were compared using the Mann-Whitney U or Wilcoxon rank test.

resultsTwenty-one men received CC and 10 received CC/hCG. Median followup was 3.7 (3.3-5.1) months. Sixteen men upgraded semen quality. Six of 10 men with baseline total motile sperm count (TMSC) of 0 had motile sperm after treatment, and 11/20 men with TMSC <5 upgraded semen quality into TMSC >5 range. Low 17-OHP was the only factor that predicted semen quality upgrading. Men with 17-OHP ≤55 ng/dL upgraded semen quality and improved hormones, whereas men with 17-OHP >55 ng/dL did not upgrade semen quality.

conclusionsMedical therapy for infertile men with TD resulted in the improvement of sperm concentration, TMSC, testosterone, and 17-OHP. Semen quality upgrading appears to be more significant in patients with low 17-OHP, suggesting that ITT can be used as a biomarker to predict semen parameter(s) improvement.

Identifiers

PMID33382370
PMCPMC8279241
OpenAlexW3110706588

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
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.