ABSTRACT
To study the impact of strict criteria on IVF outcome, a structured literature review was undertaken in 19984. Published literature in which normal sperm morphology was used to predict fertilization and pregnancy during the period 1978 to 1996 was reviewed. The statistical outcomes and conclusions of the studies were tabulated, and where sufficient data were available, the odds ratios for fertilization (per oocyte) and pregnancy (per cycle) were calculated. A total of 216 articles were identified by the sourcing methodology, but only 49 provided data that could be tabulated and analyzed. The majority (82%) of the analyzed studies concluded that normal sperm morphology (including acrosomal morphology) had a role to play in the determination of male fertility potential. Eighteen of the analyzed studies provided sufficient data for statistical analysis. Fifteen studies used the strict criteria to evaluate sperm morphology, two used WHO guidelines, and one used both the strict criteria and the WHO guidelines.
