Episode # 302 • 12 May 2026
Male Infertility: Diagnosis & Guidelines Update
Male factor infertility accounts for nearly half of all infertility cases, yet male evaluation is often delayed or overlooked. In this episode of BackTable Urology, Dr. Robert Brannigan joins guest host Dr. Catherine Nam to unpack the 2024 AUA/ASRM Male Infertility Guideline update and discuss how the field is evolving beyond basic semen analysis.
Timestamps
00:00 - Introduction
04:12 - Rationale Behind the Updates
09:37 - Concurrent Couple Evaluation
15:01 - Diagnosis, Assessment and Evaluation
20:33 - Y Chromosome Microdeletion Testing
23:54 - Workup for Recurrent Pregnancy Loss
33:57 - Pelvic MRI for EDO
36:46 - MicroTESE
40:15 - Future Research Directions
44:09 - Closing Takeaways
Resources
- Increased risk of incident chronic medical conditions in infertile men: analysis of United States claims data
- Diagnosis and Treatment of Infertility in Men: AUA/ASRM Guideline
- Sixth edition of the World Health Organization laboratory manual of semen analysis: Updates and essential take away for busy clinicians
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More about this episode
They review updated definitions of infertility, challenges with WHO semen reference ranges, and the need for comprehensive male assessment. The discussion also covers sperm DNA fragmentation, recurrent pregnancy loss, the role of pelvic MRI for ejaculatory duct obstruction, micro-TESE for nonobstructive azoospermia, and the latest directions in male infertility research.
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