Abstract

OBJECTIVE

Circumcision is one of the most widely used surgical procedures worldwide. It has been suggested that circumcision reduces urinary tract infection (UTI) frequency 10-20 times. However no studies exist investigating the effect of circumcision on UTI frequency and growth in infants with antenatal hydronephrosis (AH). In this study therefore, we aimed to examine the effect of circumcision on UTI frequency and growth postnatally in infants without urological abnormality having AH.

METHODS

The data were evaluated retrospectively between 1998-2010. Infants with a fetal pelvis diameter of ≥5 mm identified with antenatal ultrasound (US) were followed-up. All patients were evaluated in terms of UTI frequency and weight, height data were collected. The chi-square and student’s t tests were used for statistical analysis. P value <0.05 was considered significant.

RESULTS

In circumcised normal male infants pre-circumcision mean UTI frequency (2.27±1.75 per year) was found to be higher than the post-circumcision mean UTI frequency (0.12±0.22 per year) (p<0.05). Post-circumcision height (mean height SDS=0.19±1.2) were significantly greater than pre-circumcision height (mean height SDS=-0.03±0.55) in circumcised males (p=0.02). Pre- (0.23±1.2) and post-circumcision (0.43±0.85) mean weight SDS values were not statistically different (p>0.05).

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, in male infants without detected urological abnormalities having AH, early circumcision decreases the frequency of UTI and provides a positive contribution to the growth.