Value of the sperm chromatin dispersion test in predicting pregnancy outcome in intrauterine insemination:: a blind prospective study

BACKGROUND: Sperm DNA integrity has been used as a new marker of sperm quality in the prediction of pregnancy. Nevertheless, no previous study has been performed by analysing the same samples that were employed in assisted reproduction. The main objective of this work was to correlate sperm chromatin dispersion (SCD), measured by the SCD test, with semen parameters and pregnancy outcome in intrauterine insemination (IUI). METHODS: A total of 100 semen samples obtained from males of couples undergoing IUI were analysed by the SCD test before and after swim-up, and the results were correlated with semen parameters and pregnancy outcome. RESULTS: SCD was negatively correlated with sperm motility in both ejaculated and processed semen. Sperm recovered by swim-up did not show a significant improvement in DNA integrity. No correlation was found between SCD and pregnancy outcome in IUI. CONCLUSIONS: DNA dispersion, as measured by the SCD test, is not correlated with pregnancy outcome in IUI.