Role of Cytocentrifugation Combined with Nuclear Fast Picroindigocarmine Staining in Detecting Cryptozoospermia in Men Diagnosed with Azoospermia

Purpose: Azoospermia is defined as the absence of spermatozoa in the pellet of a centrifuged semen sample. In fact, when a basic semen analysis fails to detect sperm in the ejaculate, there is still the possibility of detecting rare sperm after centrifugation of the sample and examination of the pellet. In this study, we assessed the role of Cytospin centrifugation in combination with the nuclear fast picroindigocarmine (NF-PIC) staining in identifying sperm in azoospermic samples. Materials and Methods: Semen samples of 251 men diagnosed as having azoospermia after standard examination were further analyzed by Cytospin centrifugation in combination with NF-PIC staining. Results: Sperm were detected in 60 men (23.9%), thus changing their diagnosis to cryptozoospermia. Conclusions: By identifying sperm in the semen of men who were thought to have total azoospermia, the Cytospin NF-PIC test can alter the diagnosis and further treatment of these men.

研究目的：无精子症（Azoospermia）定义为离心精液样本的沉渣中无精子。实际上，当基础精液分析未在射精液中检测到精子时，仍有可能在样本离心后对沉渣进行检查时发现罕见精子。本研究评估了Cytospin离心（Cytospin centrifugation）结合核快染品红-靛蓝胭脂红（nuclear fast picroindigocarmine, NF-PIC）染色在无精子症样本中识别精子的作用。材料与方法：对251名经标准检查诊断为无精子症的男性的精液样本，采用Cytospin离心结合NF-PIC染色进行进一步分析。结果：在60名男性（占比23.9%）的样本中检测到精子，因此将其诊断修正为隐匿精子症（cryptozoospermia）。结论：通过在原本被认为是完全无精子症的男性精液中识别出精子，Cytospin-NF-PIC检测可改变此类患者的诊断方案与后续治疗策略。