Congenital Pouch Colon in Males: Exploring the Risk of Epididymo-orchitis

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Surgery
• Urology
• Gastroenterology

Background:

• Anorectal malformations (ARMs) are linked to a higher incidence of epididymo-orchitis (EO).
• Congenital pouch colon (CPC) is a rare ARM subtype with potential predisposing factors for EO.
• Understanding EO occurrence in CPC patients is crucial for etiology and management.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the incidence of epididymo-orchitis (EO) in male patients diagnosed with congenital pouch colon (CPC).
• To explore potential associations between CPC anatomical variations and EO development.
• To enhance the understanding of the etiology of EO in this specific pediatric population.

Main Methods:

• An ambispective observational study analyzing medical records of male patients with CPC.
• Inclusion criteria applied to 25 patients managed at the center.
• Data collected included age, CPC type, genitourinary anomalies, urinary tract infections (UTIs), and EO episodes.

Main Results:

• The study included 25 male patients with a mean follow-up age of 3.36 years.
• Type IV CPC was most common (45.8%). Hydroureteronephrosis and UTIs were noted in 13 and 7 patients, respectively.
• Only one patient (4%) developed two episodes of EO, associated with multiple genitourinary and spinal anomalies.

Conclusions:

• The incidence of EO in congenital pouch colon patients appears low (4%).
• Surgical approaches, including early pouch-vesical fistula division and careful prostatic urethra dissection, may mitigate EO risk.
• Further research with larger cohorts is needed to validate findings and elucidate underlying mechanisms.