Recovery rates of infants with cryptorchidism before 15 months of age

Cryptorchidism or undescended testicle, with a prevalence of 33 percent in preterm and 3-5 percent in term infants, is the most common congenital abnormality in newborn boys. The present study aimed to assess the recovery rate and urinary tract infection among infants with cryptorchidism during the first 15 months of their life. This cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted on 47 infants with cryptorchidism in Zahedan city (Iran) in 2012. The infants’ birth weight, preterm/term birth, delivery method, and affected testicle along with maternal age, history of urinary tract infection during pregnancy, and number of pregnancies were collected. Information about the infants’ urinary tract infection and recovery from cryptorchidism was collected through observations and trimonthly phone calls until the 15th month after birth. Percentage and mean were used for data analysis. Of the 47 studied infants, 63.82 percent were premature, 59.57 percent had right-side cryptorchidism, and 80.60 percent developed urinary tract infection at least once. The highest incidence of urinary tract infection (29.8 percent) was seen at the age of three months old. The majority of infants (91.5 percent) recovered during the course of the study and the recovery rate at the fifth, 10th, and 15th months were 31.9 percent, 38.3 percent and 21.3 percent,respectively. This study revealed the high prevalence of urinary tract infection among infants with cryptorchidism. It also showed that most infants with cryptorchidism recover within 15 months of age.