Contradictory results have been reported regarding effects of the SARS-CoV-2 upon human semen. A timely and up-to-date systematic review with meta-analysis appears necessary. This study aimed to deliver pooled prevalence (PP) of SARS-CoV-2 in semen and pooled semen parameters as compared with the uninfected. The relevant databases were scanned by two authors for observational studies reporting analysis of semen in COVID-19 patients. The SARS-CoV-2-infected were assigned to group A (exposed arm), whereas the uninfected to group B (unexposed arm). Newcastle–Ottawa Scale was used to address the risk of bias. PRISMA guidelines were adopted. In case of homogenous studies, fixed-effects model was followed, whereas for heterogenous studies random-effects model was used. Of 990 studies, 24 were eligible involving 1589 subjects (947 in group A and 642 in group B). The “comparability” domain was biased the most. SARS-CoV-2 RNA was detected in three studies among 8 individuals producing the PP of 1.76% (95% CI 0.72–3.21). Sperm concentration was reduced significantly (WMD = –16.23 [95% CI –25.56 to –6.89], as well as total sperm in ejaculate (WMD = –34.84 [95% CI − 43.51 to –26.17]) and sperm volume (WMD = − 0.48 [95% CI − 0.59 to − 0.36] in group A as compared with controls. There was a non-significant effect upon progressive motility and leukocyte presence in semen. SARS-CoV-2 RNA in semen among the infected individuals is detected infrequently. By this token, sexual transmission through semen is of low probability and little concern for public health. However, significant decrease in sperm volume, sperm concentration, and total sperm in ejaculate has been noted. The current data, though, are limited, and more studies with longer follow-up are needed to evaluate the further impact.

关于 SARS-CoV-2 对人类精液的影响，已经报道了相互矛盾的结果。及时和最新的系统回顾与荟萃分析似乎是必要的。本研究旨在提供精液中 SARS-CoV-2 的合并流行率 (PP) 和与未感染者相比的合并精液参数。两位作者扫描了相关数据库，用于报告 COVID-19 患者精液分析的观察性研究。SARS-CoV-2 感染者被分配到 A 组（暴露臂），而未感染者被分配到 B 组（未暴露臂）。纽卡斯尔-渥太华量表用于解决偏倚风险。PRISMA 指南被采纳。在同质研究的情况下，遵循固定效应模型，而对于异质研究，使用随机效应模型。在 990 项研究中，24 人符合条件，涉及 1589 名受试者（A 组 947 人，B 组 642 人）。“可比性”领域的偏见最大。在 8 个个体的三项研究中检测到 SARS-CoV-2 RNA，产生的 PP 为 1.76%（95% CI 0.72–3.21）。精子浓度显着降低（WMD = –16.23 [95% CI –25.56 至 –6.89]），射精中的精子总数（WMD = –34.84 [95% CI - 43.51 至 –26.17]）和精子体积（WMD = − 与对照组相比，A 组为 0.48 [95% CI − 0.59 至 − 0.36]。对精液中前向运动和白细胞的存在没有显着影响。检测到受感染个体精液中的 SARS-CoV-2 RNA很少见。由此看来，通过精液进行性传播的可能性很低，对公众健康影响不大。但是，精子体积、精子浓度、并且注意到射精中的精子总数。然而，目前的数据是有限的，需要更多的研究和更长时间的随访来评估进一步的影响。