Abstract

Objective: We evaluated serum chitotriosidase levels in varicocele patients to investigate the pathophysiology of varicocele. 

Materials and methods: In 2008, 38 patients who underwent left varicocelectomy with a diagnosis of left varicocele were divided into two groups based on their sperm counts. Group 1 (n=19) consisted of patients whose sperm counts were ≤20x106 sperm/mL (oligospermia), and group 2 (n=19) consisted of patients whose sperm counts were >20x106 sperm/mL (normospermia). Serum chitotriosidase levels were determined from samples obtained from the brachial and testicular veins.

Results: The mean patient sperm counts were 13.3±7.2x106 sperm/mL in Group 1 and 54.8±23.1x106 sperm/mL in Group 2. In Group 1, the mean patient brachial serum chitotriosidase level was 41.1±27.8 nmol/hour/mL, and the mean testicular serum chitotriosidase level was 40.5±27.4 nmol/hour/mL. In Group 2, the mean patient brachial serum chitotriosidase level was 28.6±22.8 nmol/hour/mL, and the mean testicular serum chitotriosidase level was 28.1±22.1 nmol/hour/mL. Although the mean brachial and testicular chitotriosidase levels were higher in Group 1 than in Group 2, this difference was statistically insignificant (p=0.188 and p=0.220 for the brachial and testicular levels, respectively). 

Conclusion: The study demonstrates that brachial chitotriosidase levels are representative of testicular chitotriosidase levels. The increase in testicular serum chitotriosidase levels in oligospermic varicocele patients does not achieve statistical significance. However, further studies with larger sample sizes are needed.