TITLE:
Contribution of Sperm DNA Fragmentation Testing to the Standard Male Infertility Work-Up
AUTHORS:
Idrèch Cyrielle Nkounkou Banzouzi, Steve Aristide Ondziel Opara, Anicet Luc Magloire Boumba, Philippe Moreira, Tidiane Sibi, Souadou Sibi Bocoum, Alice Nzambi Passi, Anani Sévérin Wencesl Odzébé
KEYWORDS:
Sperm DNA Fragmentation, SCD Test, Semen Analysis, Male Infertility
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Urology,
Vol.16 No.11,
November
13,
2026
ABSTRACT: Introduction: Conventional sperm parameters do not systematically detect sperm DNA damage. To improve the management of infertility, integrating the sperm DNA fragmentation test into the standard work-up appears relevant and justified. Primary objective: To evaluate the contribution of sperm DNA fragmentation testing to the standard male infertility work-up. Materials and methods: This was a prospective cross-sectional analytical study conducted from September 2025 to February 2026 on a population of 37 infertile men. The analyses performed were semen analysis with sperm morphology assessment according to WHO 2021 and the sperm DNA fragmentation test using the Sperm Chromatin Dispersion (SCD) method. Statistical analyses were performed using R software. The significance threshold was set at p Results: The mean age was 40.40 ± 9.23 years. The most frequent abnormalities were teratozoospermia (94.59%) and necrozoospermia (37.84%). The prevalence of high DFI (>30%) was 48.65%. The analyses revealed significant correlations between continuous DFI-vitality (r = −0.446; p = 0.006), and continuous DFI-concentration (r = −0.514, p = 0.001). No significant correlation was found between continuous DFI and morphology (r = 0.104; p = 0.541). Conclusion: Sperm DNA fragmentation testing provides diagnostic information that complements standard semen analysis, supporting its consideration in the evaluation of male infertility.