DIRECT ANTISPERM ANTIBODIES USING ENZYME-IMMUNOASSAY OR IMMUNOBEADS -A PROSPECTIVE COHORT COMPARISON

An enzyme immunoassay for detecting antisperm antibodies directly on s perm was compared to immunobeads in a prospective cohort design. In a series of 112 divided ejaculates evaluated for assisted reproductive t echnologies, there was moderate overall agreement (kappa = .64) betwee n the methods. All ejaculates positive by immunobeads were also positi ve by enzyme immunoassay. The enzyme immunoassay could be performed ev en on oligospermic specimens. When both assays could be employed, the enzyme immunoassay was positive more often (P = .001). Positive specim ens by enzyme immunoassay often bound IgA-class antibodies alone, with out IgG. Enzyme immunoassay results may represent false-positive resul ts or a new, lower threshold for antibody detection.