WHO Manual for the Standardized Investigation and Diagnosis of the Infertile Couple

by Patrick J. Rowe, Frank H. Comhaire, Timothy B. Hargreave, Heather J. Mellows

Overview

This concise 1993 volume proposes a standardized approach to the investigation of infertility. The volume provides clear guidelines and a logical sequence of steps which will quickly lead the clinician or physician to an accurate diagnosis of the underlying cause of infertility. This standardized approach to the management of infertility will lead to more efficient, systematic and economic care for the infertile couple. The diagnostic charts, which may be photocopied, provide an unambiguous route to diagnosis of the underlying cause of infertility, whilst the text fully explains and describes the essential clinical tests. The volume summarizes the results gained from the study of more than 10,000 infertile couples, who were investigated as part of the WHO's programme to counter the widespread personal distress caused by infertility. It is hoped that the standardized approach presented here will go some way towards countering this major problem.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521431361
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	10/29/1993
Pages:	92
Product dimensions:	7.44(w) x 9.69(h) x 0.35(d)

About the Author

Rowe, Patrick J., MBBS, FRCOG (World Health Organization); Comhaire, Frank H., MD, PhD (Academisch Ziekenhuis); Hargreave, Timothy B., MS, FRCS (Univ of Edinburgh); Mellows, Heather J., MRCOG (Bassetlaw Hospital)

Table of Contents

General Introduction; Part I. Male Partner: Introduction; History taking; Clinical assessment of male fertility; Physical examination, Semen analysis, Other laboratory investigations, Additional technical investigations; Objective criteria for diagnostic categories in the simplified management of male infertility; Part II. Female Partner: Introduction; History taking; Examination; Investigation; Conclusion; Objective criteria for diagnostic categories in the simplified management of female infertility; Diagnoses referring to menstrual patterns, Other diagnoses; Appendices.

Editorial Reviews

Reviewer: James Aiman, MD (Medical College of Wisconsin)
Description: This is a concise manual that provides explicit definitions of infertility, criteria for normal results in infertility testing, and a systematic and standardized scheme for evaluating infertile couples.
Purpose: The authors have achieved their worthy purpose of providing a book that "aims at becoming the standard reference for [those] who take care of infertile couples."
Audience: Although the authors describe their intended audience as gynecologists, andrologists, urologists, endocrinologists, biologists, and other scientists who care for infertile couples, the real beneficiaries of this manual will be practicing physicians who care for infertile couples but who do not have special training or expertise in reproductive endocrinology or infertility. Infertility specialists will also find this manual useful.
Features: Those who purchase this manual are permitted to reproduce the standardized forms for recording the evaluation of male and female factors in infertility. Diagrams to record laparoscopic findings, the revised American Fertility Society classification of endometriosis, a chart of body mass index, and a description of the Ferriman-Gallwey hirsutism score are given in an appendix. Photographs of the Tanner classification of pubertal development are also included but are unnecessary to achieve the purpose of thi s manual. The authors do not describe the therapy of infertility.
Assessment: The authors provide only two references for suggested reading. One of these is seriously outdated, and the other is a textbook of reproductive endocrinology that devotes only a small portion of space to the subject of infertility. The authors rarely provide references when they cite specific tests or standards. Despite these criticisms, the authors have written a succinct, yet comprehensive manual to guide the evaluation of infertile couples.

Doody's Review Service

3 Stars from Doody

This is a concise manual that provides explicit definitions of infertility, criteria for normal results in infertility testing, and a systematic and standardized scheme for evaluating infertile couples. The authors have achieved their worthy purpose of providing a book that ""aims at becoming the standard reference for [those] who take care of infertile couples."""" Although the authors describe their intended audience as gynecologists, andrologists, urologists, endocrinologists, biologists, and other scientists who care for infertile couples, the real beneficiaries of this manual will be practicing physicians who care for infertile couples but who do not have special training or expertise in reproductive endocrinology or infertility. Infertility specialists will also find this manual useful. Those who purchase this manual are permitted to reproduce the standardized forms for recording the evaluation of male and female factors in infertility. Diagrams to record laparoscopic findings, the revised American Fertility Society classification of endometriosis, a chart of body mass index, and a description of the Ferriman-Gallwey hirsutism score are given in an appendix. Photographs of the Tanner classification of pubertal development are also included but are unnecessary to achieve the purpose of thi s manual. The authors do not describe the therapy of infertility. The authors provide only two references for suggested reading. One of these is seriously outdated, and the other is a textbook of reproductive endocrinology that devotes only a small portion of space to the subject of infertility. The authors rarely provide references when they cite specific tests or standards. Despite thesecriticisms, the authors have written a succinct, yet comprehensive manual to guide the evaluation of infertile couples.

James Aiman