The immunobead technique: an indicator of disturbed sperm cervical mucus interaction.

A group of 20 couples with repeatedly poor post coital tests (PCT's) where no coital disorders or cervical mucus abnormalities were present, were included in the study. The results of the Direct Immunobead (IB) and Tray-agglutination tests were compared with the results of the sperm-cervical-mucus-contact (SCMC) and post coital tests (PCT's) of each couple in order to determine the sensitivity, specificity and predictive value of the Direct IBT as a screening test for sperm antibodies. The positive predictive value of the IBT was 80%. It was also clear that a strong positive SCMC-T result correlated with agglutinating antibodies in the semen or seminal plasma. In conclusion, the IBT is a sensitive, specific and predictable test for sperm antibodies.