[Concentration of seminal plasma and serum inhibin B: a predictor in the diagnosis of azoospermia].

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the concentrations of seminal plasma and serum inhibin B in the differential diagnosis of obstructive and non-obstructive azoospermia. METHODS: We included 37 infertile men with obstructive azoospermia, another 33 with non-obstructive azoospermia and 25 normal fertile men as controls, and measured the concentrations of their FSH serum, seminal plasma and serum inhibin B, using Testicular Histology Johnson Score for the azoospermia infertile men. RESULTS: The concentration ratio of seminal plasma to serum inhibin B was 2.17 in the control and 3.63 in the non-obstructive azoospermia group, with no significant difference (P = 0.29) in between, but obviously lower in the obstructive azoospermia group (0.18), significantly different from the above two (P < 0.01). CONCLUSION: The concentration ratio of seminal plasma to serum inhibin B can be used as a predictor in the diagnosis of obstructive and non-obstructive azoospermia.