Questionnaire survey of male infertility in cystic fibrosis

Most male cystic fibrosis (CF) patients are infertile due to obstructive az ospermia but little is known about the best time to counsel patients on inf ertility. All male patients attending the Adult Nottingham CF unit were inv ited to complete an anonymous questionnaire on infertility. The response ra te was 60%. The median age that the patients first became aware of male inf ertility was 17 years (range 13-24) but the preferred age of receiving this information was 14 years (range 8-16). Patients first learnt about male in fertility from the CF team (six patients), parents (five), from written inf ormation (two) or unexpectedly (five). Five out of 18 patients had undergon e seminal analysis at a median age of 26 years but 17/18 patients felt that this should be offered routinely. Our survey has shown that patients would like infertility discussions at a younger age and routine seminal analysis .