Compliance of clinical laboratories with standard recommendations for semen analysis: results of a national survey
Salima Daoud (TN), Zied Rebei (TN), Afifa Sellami (TN), Nozha Chakroun (TN), Leila Ammar-Keskes (TN), Tarek Rebai (TN)
[Daoud] Histology-Embryology Laboratory, Medical School of Sfax, [Rebei] Histology-Embryology Laboratory, Medical School of Sfax, [Sellami] Histology-Embryology Laboratory, Medical School of Sfax, [Chakroun] Histology-Embryology Laboratory, Medical School of Sfax, [Ammar-Keskes] Histology-Embryology Laboratory, Medical School of Sfax, [Rebai] Histology-Embryology Laboratory, Medical School of Sfax
Context: Despite its critical importance for male infertility investigation, there is a common agreement that semen analysis standardization is difficult to achieve. It is therefore necessary to define the current state of variability of practices carried out by laboratories that are performing semen analysis before undertaking appropriate action. Objective: To determine the level of compliance by Tunisian clinical laboratories with standard recommendations for semen analysis. Patients and Interventions: An online survey was generated using Google Forms and emailed to clinical laboratories using the contact database of the Tunisian Society of Clinical Biology. Information were requested regarding experience and methods used to undertake semen analysis. Anonymous responses were received from 42 laboratories and were analyzed for their compliance with the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines. Main Outcome Measures and Results: The laboratories averages 30 semen analyses per month and 42% of them perform less than 10 analyses per month. All the laboratories routinely report sperm count, motility, morphology and semen volume. Abstinence period is routinely reported by all the laboratories and is within the limits recommended by the WHO. Only 36%, 25% and 55% of the laboratories were compliant to WHO guidelines regarding procedures of sperm count, morphology and semen volume assessment, respectively. Few laboratories (9%) reported performing internal quality control. Conclusions: These results indicate a lack of compliance with current guidelines for semen analysis and emphasize the need for implementing a national quality management program without delay.