ReviewCureus2025
Use of Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (HCG) or HCG-Combined Treatments in Male Infertility: A Systematic Review.
Review in Cureus, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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.
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.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
There exists a lack of consensus on the value of human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) or HCG-combined therapies for the treatment of male infertility. This article aims to evaluate the efficacy and safety of HCG or HCG-combined interventions in the treatment of male infertility, including men with oligospermia, men with varicocele, men with severe testiculopathy, and men with hypogonadotropic hypogonadism. We searched the databases Embase, MEDLINE and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), from inception to December 2019. Our selection criteria included randomised controlled trials evaluating the use of HCG or HCG-combined interventions for the treatment of male infertility. We included seven trials, reporting data from 926 men. Study characteristics and methodological assessment were reported for each trial. Estimates of summaries were reported as odds ratios (ORs), with random-effects methods used for calculation. When statistical analyses could not be performed, results were reported narratively. In our results, HCG showed statistically significant differences in sperm morphology and pregnancy rate (OR 34.49; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.88-632.45; P=0.02) in men with varicocele who were treated for three months following varicocelectomy. The use of HCG-combined therapy for three months was associated with increased pregnancy rates in men with oligospermia (OR 2.91; 95% CI 1.57-5.38; P=0.0007), but no statistically significant differences were observed in men with severe testiculopathy (OR 5.13; 95% CI 0.27-98.56; P=0.28). There was no reporting of pregnancy rate for men with hypogonadotropic hypogonadism. There was absent or limited reporting of secondary outcomes, including live births, birth weight, gestational age at delivery and adverse events. In conclusion, there is limited evidence to support the use of HCG and a lack of compelling evidence to suggest HCG-combined interventions for the treatment of male infertility. There is a need for more research to be carried out.
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Registered trials
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