Male Infertility in infected patients with COVID-19: A Narrative Review

Since the emergence of the pandemic of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) through severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in late 2019, we still have little knowledge about the mechanisms of pathogenesis of COVID-19. Surprisingly, early studies reported that men are more susceptible to COVID-19 compared to women. These findings raise the question of whether COVID-19 infection can negatively affect male fertility. Since angiotensin-converting enzyme-2 (ACE2) receptor, known as the entrance rout of virus into human cells abundantly on testicular cells, it is hypothesized that the virus can also have devastating effects male fertility.

The present study was conducted a narrative review of the literature on male infertility and COVID-19. We searched PubMed, Scopus, and Google scholar for papers. Full-text journal articles between the years 2019 and 2020 were reviewed for relevant articles.

There is emerging finding, which provides support for the susceptibility of male reproduction health to COVID-19 infection. In the current review article, we documented an overview of male reproductive function manifestations and the possible male infertility mechanisms of COVID-19 infection. Certainly, clarifying the mechanism of these findings will lead to the timely management and treatment of infected patients.

This review suggests that male counseling about their fertility and the evaluation of their reproductive system function should be performed.