OBJECTIVETo observe the pregnancy promoting effect of Bushen Shengjing Decoction (BSSJD) combined with intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) in treating male infertility with severe oligospermatism and azoospermia (SOA).

METHODSICSI were applied on 164 patients, among them, the 82 assigned to the TCM group were treated with additionally by BSSJD before injection for 2-3 months, and the other 82 assigned to the control group received ICSI alone. The density, motility, viability and deformity of sperm; semen level of reactive oxygen species (ROS); number of eggs retrieved, M II eggs and mean transplanted fetus; rates of fertilization, cleavage, available embryo and clinical pregnancy in the two groups were observed and compared.

RESULTSCompared with those in the control group, the density, motility and viability of sperm were higher, the deformity rate and ROS level were lower in the TCM group respectively (P<0.05). Moreover, higher rates of fertilization and clinical pregnancy were also shown in the TCM group (P<0.05).

CONCLUSIONBSSJD has the effects of decreasing semen level of ROS and improving the quality of sperm. It is also helpful for the natural fertilization ability of patients with SOA and raise the viability of their sperm to increase the ovarian fertilization rate and clinical pregnancy rate in ICSI cycles.