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ABSTRACT Background and Aim: Intrauterine insemination (IUI) after ovulation induction is one of the infertility treatment methods that is used before more invasive assisted reproductive techniques (ART) because of its simplicity and low expenditures. This procedure is performed in different kinds of sub-fertility such as those related to male factors, cervical factors and unexplained infertility. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship of sperm parameters with IUI success. Materials and Methods: In this cross sectional descriptive analytical study, 223 infertile couples who had undergone 413 IUI cycles were studied. Sampling method was census and based on available medical records of the patients in 2004. Number of IUI cycle and sperm parameters of the patients were reviewed. Semen analysis was done on the basis of NAFA-ESHRE guide manual (2001) data were collected and then analyzed statistically by means of X2, T and Fisher exact tests. p<0.05 was considered significant. Results: Pregnancy rate was 7.7% for every IUI cycle and 14.3% for every couple. Those who had progressive sperm (grade 3 and 4) in their first semen analysis, had more pregnancy rate (19.8% vs. 8.9%) (p=0.016). Those with 15% and more morphologically normal sperm had higher pregnancy rate (18.3%), but, in other subjects with less than 15%, the pregnancy rate declined to 9.8% (p=0.143). In the study of sperm count after washing, the pregnancy rate in the wives of the men with total sperm count of more than 20 million was 16%, while total sperm count of less than 20 million, led to a pregnancy rate of 3.4% (p=0.054). Conclusion: According to our study the existence of progressive sperms (grade 3 and 4) in semen analysis before washing, is one of the most important factors in prediction of IUI success. Key words: IUI, Sperm parameters, Infertility, Pregnancy.

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Background and Aim: Thyroid nodules are common clinical problems and fine needle aspiration (FNA) sampling is the most important method to diagnose its pathological nature. The frozen section (FS) is also very important in making treatment decisions. The present study was conducted to compare the diagnostic value of these two methods based on pathology findings in patients with thyroid nodules.
Materials and Methods: This descriptive-analytical study was conducted on patients with thyroid nodule surgery during 2011-2019 in Babol. Information was collected by file reading method. Data analysis was done with SPSS-26 software, and a comparative survey of the diagnostic value of pathology methods, FNA biopsy, and FS examination, was performed by calculating the sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive value (p<0.05).
Results: The majority of patients in this study were female (68.66%) and the patients did not have any family history (70.44%). In the final pathology findings, the order of benignity and malignancy of the lesion were; 54.88% and 45.11%, and in FNA and FS, they were 67% and 88.57%, respectively. Sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values in FNA were; 0.9582, 0.9896, 0.9950, and 0.9697, respectively. Sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive value in FS was 100%. The two mentioned methods were 58.8% consistent in diagnosing malignant or benign thyroid nodules (p<0.001).
Conclusions: FNA is a reliable method for detecting malignancy in thyroid nodules due to its high sensitivity and specificity. On the other hand, the FS is considered a precise method due to its high correlation with pathology.
Keywords: Diagnostic Value, Fine Needle Aspiration, Frozen Section, Thyroid Nodule