Treatment trends for undescended testis and impact of guideline changes a medical health care analysis of orchidopexy and cryptorchidism in Germany between 2006 und 2020

World J Urol. 2024 Jun 25;42(1):386. doi: 10.1007/s00345-024-05095-x.

Abstract

Background: The last decades revealed new scientific knowledge regarding the fertility and potential malignancy of undescended testis AQ2(UDT). Accordingly, many guidelines changed their recommendation concerning timing of therapy, with the goal of an earlier time of surgery.

Methods: We analyzed the number of new diagnosis and performed surgeries in predefined age groups provided by the obligatory annual reports of German hospitals in the reimbursement.INFO"-tool between 2006 and 2020.

Results: Overall, 124,741 cases were analyzed. We showed a slight increase in performed surgeries in the first year by 2% per year with a main increase till 2011, a constant number of surgeries between first and 4th year and a decrease of surgeries between 5 and 14th year of living with a main decrease till 2009 by 3% per year.

Conclusion: Even if our results illustrate an increasing adaption of the guideline's recommendation, there is still a significant number of patients who receive later treatment. More research about the reasons and circumstances for the latter is needed.

Keywords: Cryptorchidism; Epidemiology; Health service; Non-descensus testis; Orchidopexy; Real-life data; Undescended testis.

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Child
  • Child, Preschool
  • Cryptorchidism* / surgery
  • Germany / epidemiology
  • Humans
  • Infant
  • Male
  • Orchiopexy*
  • Practice Guidelines as Topic*
  • Time Factors
  • Young Adult