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Evidence summaries

Intra-Uterine Insemination for Male Subfertility

There is insufficient evidence on the effectiveness of intra-uterine insemination as compared with timed intercourse for male subfertility. Level of evidence: "D"

A Cochrane review [Abstract] 1 included 8 studies (3 of parallel, 5 of cross-over design) with a total of 632 couples with abnormal sperm parameters. Only 3 studies reported on the outcome of main interest, i.e. live birth rate per couple, finding no significant difference in any comparison. For the comparison of intra-uterine insemination (IUI) versus timed intercourse (TI), there was no statistically significant difference in pregnancy rates per woman either in natural cycles (Peto OR 5.3, 95% CI 0.42 to 67; 1 trial, n=35) or in stimulated cycles (Peto OR 1.67, 95% CI 0.83 to 3.37; 3 trials, n=202). IUI + ovarian hyperstimulation (OH) versus IUI neither produced statistically significant difference between pregnancy rates per couple (Peto OR 1.47, 95% CI 0.92 to 2.37; 4 trials).

    References

    • Bensdorp AJ, Cohlen BJ, Heineman MJ, Vandekerckhove P. Intra-uterine insemination for male subfertility. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2007;(4):CD000360.

Primary/Secondary Keywords