Abstract：
OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to investigate the correlation between testicular shear wave elastography (SWE) values and semen analysis results in men with infertility.
METHODS: This was a retrospective case-control study. Patients were categorized as normal, abnormal, or azoospermic based on sperm analysis results. Testicular volume was measured using B-mode ultrasonography using the Lambert formula. Subsequently, 40-80 regions of interest measuring 1.5 × 1.5 mm were manually positioned in both testicles based on their size, and two-dimensional SWE was applied through virtual touch imaging quantification software.
RESULTS: The patients had a mean age of 33.79 ± 6.3 years, with semen analysis revealing normal results in 15 patients (22.4%), pathological findings in 35 patients (52.2%), and azoospermia in 17 patients (25.4%). Right, left, total, and mean testicular volumes were significantly lower in patients with azoospermia compared to those in both normal and impaired semen parameters (P < .05). Conversely, testicular elastography scores were higher in patients with azoospermia than in the other groups (P < .05). The significant negative correlation between volume and elastographic findings remained independent of age (r = 0.4, P < .001). The accuracy rates for detecting impaired semen parameters and azoospermia were 94.3% and 94.1%, respectively, after considering factors such as age, testicular volume (right/left/total), and elastography (right/left/total). Notably, the total mean elastography score ranked first, with 100% in the independent normalized importance distribution of these variables.
CONCLUSIONS: SWE can be used effectively alone or in combination with other diagnostic tools to evaluate histopathological changes in the testicles of male patients with infertility.
METHODS: This was a retrospective case-control study. Patients were categorized as normal, abnormal, or azoospermic based on sperm analysis results. Testicular volume was measured using B-mode ultrasonography using the Lambert formula. Subsequently, 40-80 regions of interest measuring 1.5 × 1.5 mm were manually positioned in both testicles based on their size, and two-dimensional SWE was applied through virtual touch imaging quantification software.
RESULTS: The patients had a mean age of 33.79 ± 6.3 years, with semen analysis revealing normal results in 15 patients (22.4%), pathological findings in 35 patients (52.2%), and azoospermia in 17 patients (25.4%). Right, left, total, and mean testicular volumes were significantly lower in patients with azoospermia compared to those in both normal and impaired semen parameters (P < .05). Conversely, testicular elastography scores were higher in patients with azoospermia than in the other groups (P < .05). The significant negative correlation between volume and elastographic findings remained independent of age (r = 0.4, P < .001). The accuracy rates for detecting impaired semen parameters and azoospermia were 94.3% and 94.1%, respectively, after considering factors such as age, testicular volume (right/left/total), and elastography (right/left/total). Notably, the total mean elastography score ranked first, with 100% in the independent normalized importance distribution of these variables.
CONCLUSIONS: SWE can be used effectively alone or in combination with other diagnostic tools to evaluate histopathological changes in the testicles of male patients with infertility.
摘要：
目的：本研究旨在探讨男性不育患者睾丸剪切波弹性成像（SWE）值与精液分析结果的相关性。
方法：这是一项回顾性病例对照研究。患者被归类为正常，异常,或基于精子分析结果的无精子症。使用Lambert公式使用B型超声检查测量睾丸体积。随后，根据其大小在两个睾丸中手动定位40-80个测量1.5×1.5mm的感兴趣区域，并通过虚拟触摸成像定量软件应用二维SWE。
结果：患者的平均年龄为33.79±6.3岁，精液分析显示15例患者(22.4%)结果正常，35例患者（52.2%）的病理结果，和无精子症17例（25.4%）。对,左,total,与正常和受损精液参数相比，无精子症患者的平均睾丸体积显着降低（P<0.05）。相反，无精子症患者的睾丸弹性成像评分高于其他组（P<0.05）。体积和弹性成像结果之间的显着负相关仍然与年龄无关（r=0.4，P<0.001）。精液受损参数和无精子症的检测准确率分别为94.3%和94.1%,分别,在考虑了年龄等因素后，睾丸体积（右/左/总），和弹性成像（右/左/总）。值得注意的是,弹性成像总平均得分排名第一，在这些变量的独立归一化重要性分布中为100%。
结论：SWE可以有效地单独使用或与其他诊断工具结合使用，以评估男性不育症患者睾丸的组织病理学变化。
方法：这是一项回顾性病例对照研究。患者被归类为正常，异常,或基于精子分析结果的无精子症。使用Lambert公式使用B型超声检查测量睾丸体积。随后，根据其大小在两个睾丸中手动定位40-80个测量1.5×1.5mm的感兴趣区域，并通过虚拟触摸成像定量软件应用二维SWE。
结果：患者的平均年龄为33.79±6.3岁，精液分析显示15例患者(22.4%)结果正常，35例患者（52.2%）的病理结果，和无精子症17例（25.4%）。对,左,total,与正常和受损精液参数相比，无精子症患者的平均睾丸体积显着降低（P<0.05）。相反，无精子症患者的睾丸弹性成像评分高于其他组（P<0.05）。体积和弹性成像结果之间的显着负相关仍然与年龄无关（r=0.4，P<0.001）。精液受损参数和无精子症的检测准确率分别为94.3%和94.1%,分别,在考虑了年龄等因素后，睾丸体积（右/左/总），和弹性成像（右/左/总）。值得注意的是,弹性成像总平均得分排名第一，在这些变量的独立归一化重要性分布中为100%。
结论：SWE可以有效地单独使用或与其他诊断工具结合使用，以评估男性不育症患者睾丸的组织病理学变化。
