Prewash and postwash total progressively motile sperm counts have poor predictive value for clinical pregnancy after intrauterine insemination.

Objective: To evaluate the predictive value of the prewash and postwash total progressively motile sperm counts (TPMSC) on clinical pregnancy after intrauterine insemination (IUI) .

Methods: A review of medical records of women undergoing 2064 IUI cycles in a university hospital between April 2010 and October 2018.

Results: No pregnancies were seen when the prewash TPMSC was less than 9 million or the postwash TPMSC was less than 2 million. There was no correlation between TPMSC and clinical pregnancies. Further analysis was made in pregnancies after prewash TPMSC of 3-10 million and more than 10 million, and after postwash TPMSC of 10-100 million and more than 100 million. No correlation was found between TPMSC and clinical pregnancy in different strata of female age, infertility duration, type of infertility, type of IUI treatment, and the number of treatment cycles. A negative relationship was found for unstimulated IUI treatment and the number of treatment cycles. The prewash and postwash TPMSC showed no predictive value.

Conclusion: Prewash and postwash TPMSC have poor predictive value for clinical pregnancy in IUI. Cycles with a prewash TPMSC of 10-100 million or postwash TPMSC of 3-10 million could achieve acceptable pregnancy rates with IUI.