The prevalence of penoscrotal abnormalities and inguinal hernia in elementary-school boys in the west of Iran.

AIM: We designed a cross-sectional study in order to determine the prevalence of inguinal hernia and penoscrotal abnormalities in the Lorestan province, situated in the west of Iran.

METHODS: We studied 3205 elementary-school boys, aged 6-12 years, who underwent clinical examinations of the groin and genitalia in 2002.

RESULTS: Abnormalities were detected in 213 children (6.64%). The most frequent anomaly was indirect inguinal hernia, seen in 78 children (2.4%). The other abnormalities were retractile testes in 39 boys (1.22%), undescended testes in 36 boys (1.12%), hydrocele in 28 boys (0.87%) and hypospadiasis in 25 boys (0.78%). Also, three children had micropenises, two had epispadiasis and another two boys had varicoceles. Ambiguous genitalia and apenia were not seen in the present series. Most of the parents were not aware of their children's anomalies (60.1%).

CONCLUSIONS: Education of the public and medical staff about these abnormalities and screening system are needed to improve the outcome.