ArticleArab journal of urology2021
The usefulness of elastography in the evaluation and management of adult men with varicocele: A systematic review.
Article in Arab journal of urology, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT05330533 (Effect of Recent Ejaculation on Scrotal Duplex Parameters in Infertile Males With Varicocele), which is not on this map. Cited by 4 papers.
What it found
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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.
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.
Effect of Recent Ejaculation on Scrotal Duplex Parameters in Infertile Males With Varicocele
Who cites it
4 citing papers in PubMed.
- Recent Trends in the Management of Varicocele.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Review
- From imaging techniques to laboratory tests: a multimodal stratification for varicocele-associated decreased semen quality.Basic and clinical andrology · 2025Review
- The Andrological Landscape in the Twenty-First Century: Making Sense of the Advances in Male Infertility Management for the Busy Clinicians.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2024Review
- Predictive parameters of the efficacy of varicocele repair: a review.Asian journal of andrology · 2024Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
10 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveTo review the role of elastography in the evaluation and decision-making of adult, infertile men with varicocele.
methodsA systematic search using the terms (Elastography) AND (Varicocele), (Stiffness) AND (Varicocele), (Elastography) AND (Male infertility) was performed in Pubmed/Medline. Studies reporting a) elastographic characteristics in varicocele-bearing comparing to normal testicles, and b) the correlation of elastography with varicocele grading, parameters of spermatogenesis, and outcomes of varicocele treatment were selected. Exclusion criteria were animal, adolescents, abstracts, and non-English language studies.
resultsIn total, 453 articles were identified; 11 eligible studies were selected. Several modalities were used (shear wave elastography, strain elastography, quasistatic ultrasound elastography, acoustic radiation force impulse). Varicocele-bearing testicles have significantly different stiffness and elasticity in comparison to normal and non-varicocele testicles. Although not in full agreement, elastography readings are correlated with semen parameters. Conflicting results were reported regarding grading as most of the studies failed to demonstrate a significant correlation. Shear wave elastography showed a significant correlation with the improvement in semen parameters after varicocelectomy, but the association with pregnancy rates is unknown. Finally, no studies were identified comparing elastography with other modalities.
conclusionsElastography can detect changes in the architecture of varicocele-bearing testicles. Although the role of the modality in grading is uncertain, elastography showed a meaningful correlation with spermatogenesis parameters. Importantly, elastography readings could predict the improvement in semen parameters after varicocelectomy which is useful in terms of decision-making in infertile men with varicocele. ABBREVIATIONS: ARFI: acoustic radiation force impulse; CDUS: colour Doppler ultrasonography; DWI: diffusion-weighted imaging; PRISMA: Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses; SWE: shear wave elastography; VC: varicocele.
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