A Retrospective Survey of Pediatric Urethral Stricture in Isfahan, Iran

Abstract

Background: In order to ensure maximum recovery, stenosis management of the narrow and fragile tissue of urethra in children should be based on ingenious preserving of adequate urethral caliber. Objectives: Owing to advancements in pediatric surgery that lead to improving the quality and quantity of life in recent years, it is necessary to evaluate urethral strictures and its management. With this respect, we studied the management of children with urethral strictures in two tertiary hospitals in Isfahan, Iran. Methods: After obtaining ethical committee clearance (code number 396454), a retrospective search of the hospital information system was carried out for urethral stricture in children aged up to 15 years from 2008 to 2018. We studied all children who underwent the management for urethral strictures associated with recorded data (ICD-10; n = 35.9). Data were analyzed by SPSS and age, as a continuous variable, was expressed as mean ± standard deviation (SD). A P value of < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: For over a period of 10 years, there were 383 children, including 348 boys and 35 girls, with the mean ± SD age of 5.5 ± 3.4 years old. The management strategies for boys with the disease of urethra ranked as: dilation of urethra (n = 99), urethral meatotomy (n = 82), urethral meatoplasty (n = 75), urethrotomy (n = 7) and unspecified management (n = 85). In girls, the ranked values corresponded to dilation of urethra (n = 14), diagnostic ureteroscopy (n = 7), and unspecified management (n = 12). There was a significant difference associated with age in each subgroup. Statistical analysis based on the Kruskal-Wallis test showed a significant difference between the variables (P < 0.0001). The minimum age for urethrotomy in the population studied was 4 years old. Conclusions: In pediatric, surgical treatment is an optimistic surrogate transaction to take the majority of cases with urethral strictures. As a result, in order to decrease complications such as incontinence, impotency, and surgical risks associated with major reconstructive procedures, proper repair at the appropriate time is recommended.