Prewash total motile count is a poor predictor of live birth in intrauterine insemination cycles

Objective: To determine whether there is a relationship between prewash total motile count and live births in couples undergoing IUI. Design: Retrospective review in a single academic center. Setting: Not applicable. Patient(s): Couples with infertility undergoing ovulation induction with IUI between 2010 and 2014. Intervention(s): Not applicable. Main Outcome Measure(s): Live births. Result(s): Our cohort included 310 women who underwent 655 IUI cycles with a cumulative live birth rate (LBR) per couple of 20% and an LBR per cycle of 10%. A analysis yielded no correlation between prewash total motile count (TMC) and live births. No live births occurred with TMC <2 million sperms. Age had a significant negative relationship to LBR. A receiver operating characteristic analysis comparing age and live births indicated a significant decline in live births for women >37 years (90% sensitivity, 70% specificity). The LBR per couple was decreased to 7% in women >37 years compared with 25% in women <37 years. Conclusion(s): Prewash TMC is a poor predictor of live birth. There were no live births with prewash TMC <2 million sperms. The LBR for women >37 years with IUI was significantly lower than women <37 years.