Comparison between Microsurgical Varicocelectomy with and without Testicular Delivery for Treatment of Varicocele: An Updated Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Table 2
Meta-analysis results of operative time, hospital stay, serum testosterone, semen parameters, complications, varicocele recurrence, natural pregnancy, and subgroup analysis in grade II–III varicocele.
Outcomes
Heterogeneity
Effect model
SMD (95% CI)
p
Begger’s test P
I2 (%)
pHeterogeneity
Duration of surgery (min)
91.9
0.000
Random model
1.49 (0.99–1.98)
0.000
0.283
Hospital stay (day)
93.5
0.000
Random model
0.38 (−0.26 to 1.01)
0.244
1.000
Improvement of serum testosterone (ng/dl)
94.4
0.000
Random model
−0.09 (−0.76 to 0.59)
0.798
0.806
Decrease of abnormal sperm (%)
0.0
0.843
Fixed model
0.26 (−0.10 to 0.62)
0.150
1.000
Improvement of sperm viability (%)
91.0
0.000
Random model
0.44 (−0.03 to 0.91)
0.068
1.000
Improvement of total sperm count (106 per ejaculation)
91.0
0.000
Random model
0.38 (−0.41 to 1.17)
0.352
0.296
Improvement of sperm concentration (106/ml)
3-months follow-up
85.6
0.001
Random model
−0.15 (−0.71 to 0.42)
0.607
0.669
6-months follow-up
89.8
0.000
Random model
0.05 (−0.39 to 0.49)
0.828
0.669
1-year follow-up
43.4
0.151
Fixed model
−0.08 (−0.34 to 0.19)
0.585
0.669
Improvement of progressive sperm motility (%)
3-months follow-up
98.5
0.000
Random model
−0.63 (−2.55 to 1.28)
0.518
0.855
6-months follow-up
99.1
0.000
Random model
0.72 (−0.99 to 2.43)
0.409
0.855
1-year follow-up
0.0
0.590
Fixed model
−0.03 (−0.23 to 0.17)
0.755
0.855
Subgroup analysis in grade II–III varicocele
Improvement of sperm viability (%)
92.0
0.000
Random model
0.24 (−0.32 to 0.80)
0.407
0.941
Improvement of sperm concentration (106/ml)
89.0
0.000
Random model
0.02 (−0.35 to 0.39)
0.923
0.941
Improvement of progressive sperm motility (%)
98.9
0.000
Random model
0.19 (−1.15 to 1.53)
0.782
0.941
Improvement of total sperm count (106 per ejaculation)
91.2
0.001
Random model
0.12 (−0.83 to 1.06)
0.811
0.941
Note: CI, confidence interval; SMD, standardized mean difference.
