ArticleThe world journal of men's health2023
Impact of Varicocele Repair on Semen Parameters in Infertile Men: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
Article in The world journal of men's health, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 37 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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.
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Who cites it
37 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 62 citations in OpenAlex.
- The first Australian evidence-based guidelines on male infertility.The Medical journal of Australia · 2025Guideline
- Varicocele repair for severe oligoasthenoteratozoospermia: Scoping review of published guidelines, and systematic review of the literature.Arab journal of urology · 2025Pooled it
- Current treatment for male infertility: an umbrella review of systematic reviews and meta-analyses.Asian journal of andrology · 2024Pooled it
- Live Birth Rates After Varicocele Embolization in Patients After Failed In Vitro Fertilization With Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection.Andrology · 2026Article
- Varicocelectomy Restores Spermatogenesis in Fontan-Associated Varicocele: A Two-Case Series.IJU case reports · 2026Article
- The Effects of Varicocele Repair on Testicular Sperm Retrieval, Sperm Recovery in the Ejaculate and Clinical Pregnancy Rates in Non-Obstructive Azoospermic Men with Clinical Varicocele: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.The world journal of men's health · 2026Article
- Evaluation of the efficacy of subinguinal antegrade sclerotherapy and subinguinal micro varicocelectomy versus a combined approach on the semen parameters in infertile patients: a randomized prospective comparative study.Basic and clinical andrology · 2026Article
- Sperm DNA Fragmentation in Men with Varicocele: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.The world journal of men's health · 2026Article
- Does the Quality and Readability of Information Related to Varicocele Obtained from ChatGPT 4.0 Remain Consistent Across Different Models of Inquiry?The world journal of men's health · 2026Article
- Global Andrology Forum (GAF) Clinical Guidelines on the Management of Infertile Men with Varicocele.The world journal of men's health · 2026Article
- Comparison of DNA fragmentation index and fertility rate after unilateral and bilateral microsurgical varicocelectomy.European journal of translational myology · 2025Article
- Recent Trends in the Management of Varicocele.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Review
- Molecular Remodeling of the Sperm Proteome Following Varicocele Sclero-Embolization: Implications for Semen Quality Improvement.Proteomes · 2025Article
- Role of varicocelectomy in infertile patients with clinical varicocele and isolated sperm defects.Asian journal of urology · 2025Article
- Impact of Varicocele Repair on Assisted Reproductive Technique Outcomes in Infertile Men: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.The world journal of men's health · 2025Article
- Therapeutic Effects of Mesenchymal Stem Cell Conditioned Medium in Rat Varicocele Model.The world journal of men's health · 2025Article
- Challenging cases of adherent periarterial vein during subinguinal Fisch technique and subinguinal micro-varicocelecotmy and sclerotherapy: a prospective comparative study.Basic and clinical andrology · 2025Article
- Predictive model construction for evaluating treatment outcomes of microscopic left internal spermatic vein reflux reconstruction plus left spermatic vein high ligation for grade III left varicocele and influencing factor prioritization.American journal of translational research · 2025Article
- Enhancing Male Fertility Through AI-Based Management of Varicoceles.Current urology reports · 2024Review
- Comparison Between Varicocelectomy and Varicocele Sclerotherapy: Results of a Single-Center Observational Study.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
59 authors at 20 institutions in 27 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposeDespite the significant role of varicocele in the pathogenesis of male infertility, the impact of varicocele repair (VR) on conventional semen parameters remains controversial. Only a few systematic reviews and meta-analyses (SRMAs) have evaluated the impact of VR on sperm concentration, total motility, and progressive motility, mostly using a before-after analytic approach. No SRMA to date has evaluated the change in conventional semen parameters after VR compared to untreated controls. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of VR on conventional semen parameters in infertile patients with clinical varicocele compared to untreated controls. MATERIALS AND
methodsA literature search was performed using Scopus, PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane databases following the Population Intervention Comparison Outcome (PICOS) model (Population: infertile patients with clinical varicocele; Intervention: VR [any technique]; Comparison: infertile patients with clinical varicocele that were untreated; Outcome: sperm concentration, sperm total count, progressive sperm motility, total sperm motility, sperm morphology, and semen volume; Study type: randomized controlled trials and observational studies).
resultsA total of 1,632 abstracts were initially assessed for eligibility. Sixteen studies were finally included with a total of 2,420 infertile men with clinical varicocele (1,424 patients treated with VR
conclusionsThis study provides a high level of evidence in favor of a positive effect of VR to improve conventional semen parameters in infertile men with clinical varicocele. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first SRMA to compare changes in conventional semen parameters after VR with changes in parameters of a control group over the same period. This is in contrast to other SRMAs which have compared semen parameters before and after VR, without reference to a control group. Our findings strengthen the available evidence and have a potential to upgrade professional societies' practice recommendations favoring VR to improve conventional semen parameters in infertile men.
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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.