Effect of diclofenac on semen quality: A review

Diclofenac is an effective nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug and one of the most prescribed medicines worldwide. So far, there are many published articles that directly link between diclofenac and semen quality; however, hitherto, there is no collective review or comprehensive discussion that reveal such imperative link. Therefore, this work reviews and judges the association between diclofenac administration and semen quality, henceforth male infertility. As a tool to accomplish this scientific input, Scopus, Embase and PubMed databases have been searched for all original articles using the keywords “diclofenac” versus “semen” and “sperm” since August 1987 through November 2020. In summary, diclofenac appears to induce negative effects on both qualitative and quantitative measures of sperm; however, this conclusion requires confirmation by human studies. The detected negative effects of diclofenac on semen quality measures may be owed to reduced levels of gonadal hormones, decreased antioxidant defence mechanism, increased oxidative stress, altered concentrations of nitric oxide that are required to maintain normal sperm physiology and reduced synthesis of prostaglandins.