The relationship between total motile sperm count and the success of intrauterine insemination.

OBJECTIVES

To determine if the total motile sperm count is predictive of IUI success and to apply life-table analysis to a large database of IUI procedures.

DESIGN

Contingency table and life-table analyses were used to analyze a large group of couples (n = 546) undergoing 1,205 cycles of therapeutic IUI with husband's sperm.

SETTING

Clinical infertility practice at a medical school referral center.

PATIENTS: Five hundred forty-six couples with varying etiologies of infertility.

RESULTS

There was a trend toward an increasing percentage of conception with increasing total motile sperm count. Significance was reached when the total motile sperm count used for IUI exceeded 20 x 10(6). The cumulative pregnancy rate calculated from this data reached 52% after the sixth attempted cycle of IUI.