48,XXYY syndrome presenting with long-term infertility and newly observed neck deformities: a case report

Abstract

Background: Long-term infertility can be attributed to many factors, with the genetic factor being the most overlooked due to its many nonspecific morphological or endocrine signs. We present a rare case of a patient with progressive testicular failure associated with 48,XXYY syndrome. Case presentation: A 39-year-old Arab man presented to our fertility clinic for fertility treatment. He was diagnosed with primary infertility, which had been present for 20 years at the time of presentation. Our patient had nonspecific morphological features of an abnormally wide neck with front slouching neck posture, clinodactyly of the third finger, and had moderate hypoandrogenemic features. A semen analysis revealed azoospermia. Genetic tests for azoospermia, including sex-determining region Y (SRY) detection and chromosome Y microdeletion, revealed no deletion present on the Y chromosome. Karyotyping was used and our patient was diagnosed with 48,XXYY syndrome. Conclusion: Genetic testing (karyotyping and so on) played a key role in the diagnosis of our patient with long-term primary infertility secondary to 48,XXYY syndrome, and should play a vital role in all cases of long-term infertility, especially when presentation is accompanied by endocrine, skeletal, or morphological symptoms, signifying an underlying genetic factor.