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PubMed1997

Male circumcision and susceptibility to HIV infection among men in Tanzania.

BACKGROUND: Evidence from ecological studies and from studies of and sexually transmitted disease (STD) patients in sub-Saharan Africa suggests that there is a protective effect of male circumcision against HIV infection. There are, however, few population-based studies that have controlled adequately for potential confounding factors. METHODS: Data from the five population-based studies in north-western Tanzania were used to investigate the association between male circumcision and the risk of HIV infection and STD. The effects of circumcision on HIV prevalence, syphilis (positive Treponema pallidum haemagglutination; TPHA) and self-reported STD were analysed, controlling for a range of demographic and sociocultural variables, and indicators of sexual behaviour. RESULTS: In north-western Tanzania, circumcision was previously restricted to Muslims and specific ethnic groups, but is now more widespread, particularly in urban ares and among more educated men. Assessment of the reliability and validity of self-reported circumcision status showed that these data could be considered fairly accurate, although there was some tendency for circumcision to be over-reported. On univariate analysis, circumcision status was unrelated to HIV prevalence in most studies. After controlling for confounding variables, however, there was a modest but significant reduction of the HIV prevalence among circumcised men [odds ratio (OR), 0.62; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.48-.81]. This effect appeared stronger in urban areas (OR, 0.46; 95% CI, 0.32-0.68) and roadside villages (OR, 0.65; 95% CI, 0.42-1.01) than in rural areas and islands (OR, 1.00 and 1.01 respectively). There was no association between circumcision status and syphilis serology (TPHA), but there was a positive association between circumcision and self-reported STD, although this was not significant after adjustment for confounding variables. CONCLUSION: Male circumcision has a protective effect against HIV infection in this population, which may be stronger in urban areas and roadside settlements than in the rural areas. Ethnic group and religious denomination are no longer the sole determinants of male circumcision.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1998

Neonatal circumcision and pain relief: current training practices.

OBJECTIVE: We conducted a national survey of pediatric, family practice, and obstetrics and gynecology residency program directors to determine the curriculum content and predominant practices in US training programs with regard to neonatal circumcision and anesthesia/analgesia for the procedure. METHODS: Residency directors of accredited programs were surveyed in two mailings of a forced response and short answer survey (response rate: 680/914, 74%; pediatrics 83%; family practice 72%; obstetrics 71%). RESULTS: Pediatric residents were less likely than family practice [odds ratio (OR), 0.04; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.02-0.08] or obstetrical (OR, 0.14; 95% CI, 0.08-0.23) residents to be taught circumcision. Training and local custom were rated as important determinants of medical responsibility for neonatal circumcision. Pediatric residents training in programs in which community pediatricians perform circumcisions were more likely to learn circumcision (OR, 39.0; 95% CI, 14.3-110.6) as were obstetric residents (OR, 79.0; 95% CI, 22.4-306.4) training in programs in which community obstetricians perform circumcision. In programs that teach circumcision, pediatric (84%; OR, 3.4; 95% CI, 1.7-7.1) and family practice (80%; OR, 2.7; 95% CI, 1.7-4.2) programs were more likely than obstetric programs (60%) to teach analgesia/anesthesia techniques to relieve procedural pain. Overall, 26% of programs that taught circumcision failed to provide instruction in anesthesia/analgesia for the procedure. Significant regional variations in training in circumcision and analgesia/anesthesia techniques were noted within and across medical specialties. CONCLUSIONS: Residency training standards are not consistent for pediatric, family practice, and obstetrical residents with regard to neonatal circumcision or instruction in analgesia/anesthesia for the procedure. Training with regard to pain relief is clearly inadequate for what remains a common surgical procedure in the United States. Given the overwhelming evidence that neonatal circumcision is painful and the existence of safe and effective anesthesia/analgesia methods, residency training in neonatal circumcision should include instruction in pain relief techniques.

Analgesia↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Factors affecting the circumcision decision.

BACKGROUND: Studies from more than 10 years ago have shown that most parents choose circumcision for their infant sons for nonmedical reasons. Since then a wealth of data has accumulated on the relative risks and benefits of the procedure, although the medical community remains divided on the appropriateness of the procedure. Whether the ongoing research effort and medical debate have had an effect on parental decision making is unknown. METHODS: A survey of parents of 55 male infants was conducted to determine when the parents made their decision regarding circumcision, whether discussions with providers affected their decisions, and what the reasons were for their decisions. RESULTS: Eighty percent of parents made the circumcision decision before provider discussions. Seventeen percent reported changing their mind based on their provider's discussion, although it did not significantly affect the circumcision rate. Eighty-three percent of parents reported their provider's attitude as neutral, including 7 of 8 patients who changed their mind based on the discussion; only 1 patient was circumcised based on the provider's recommendation. Predominant reasons for circumcision were ease of hygiene (67 percent), ease of infant circumcision compared with adult circumcision (63 percent), medical benefit (41 percent), and father circumcised (37 percent). Reasons for no circumcision included unnecessary (73 percent), painful (36 percent), and father uncircumcised (18 percent). CONCLUSIONS: Most parents have made a decision on circumcision before physicians discuss it, and physician discussions appear to have little impact on the decision. Ease of cleanliness is still the most common reason parents choose circumcision.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

Adult circumcision outcomes study: effect on erectile function, penile sensitivity, sexual activity and satisfaction.

PURPOSE: Evidence concerning the effect of circumcision on sexual function is lacking. Men circumcised as adults are potentially in a unique position to comment on the effect of a prepuce on sexual intercourse. We examine sexual function outcomes in men who have experienced sexual intercourse in the uncircumcised and circumcised states. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Men 18 years old or older when circumcised were identified by billing records during a 5-year period at an academic medical center. Medical charts were reviewed for confirmation of the procedure and to identify the indication(s). These men were surveyed to assess erectile function, penile sensitivity, sexual activity and overall satisfaction. Data were analyzed using paired t tests to compare category scores before and after circumcision. RESULTS: A total of 123 men were circumcised as adults. Indications for circumcision included phimosis in 64% of cases, balanitis in 17%, condyloma in 10%, redundant foreskin in 9% and elective in 7%. The response rate was 44% among potential responders. Mean age of responders was 42 years at circumcision and 46 years at survey. Adult circumcision appears to result in worsened erectile function (p = 0.01), decreased penile sensitivity (p = 0.08), no change in sexual activity (p = 0.22) and improved satisfaction (p = 0.04). Of the men 50% reported benefits and 38% reported harm. Overall, 62% of men were satisfied with having been circumcised. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings may help urologists better counsel men undergoing circumcision as adults. Prospective studies are needed to better understand the relationship between circumcision and sexual function.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

Attitudes of Pacific parents to circumcision of boys.

BACKGROUND: Circumcision for cultural reasons is routine in Pacific Island countries. In New Zealand routine circumcision for which there is no medical indication is uncommon and no longer publicly funded within the public hospital system. This has caused difficulties for the Pacific people of New Zealand. AIM: This study documents the differences in the attitudes of Pacific parents and their male children to cultural circumcision, and assesses the strength of their beliefs. METHODOLOGY: Pacific boys between the ages of 8-18 and their parents resident in Christchurch were given a questionnaire to complete and then were interviewed. The participants were obtained mainly through church organisations and after broadcast on Pacifica radio. RESULTS: One hundred and sixteen of the 123 participants felt that they had strong ties to the Pacific community. The majority (89%) of the Pacific people felt that circumcision should be performed mainly for reasons of culture and hygiene. Only a small number were aware of the possible complications that might occur with circumcision. The average age that most Pacific people were circumcised and would want their children to be circumcised is between 6 and 10 years of age. Boys were less sure than their fathers that they would get their own sons circumcised. CONCLUSION: This study has shown that circumcision is expected and surprisingly well accepted by the boys of Pacific families despite the discomfort they know the procedure causes. There is a strong cultural demand from parents for circumcision. Guidance from church leaders or sexual health lessons at schools or elsewhere may alter the cultural importance of circumcision for Pacific Island people. However, the preference for circumcision is so well entrenched into their cultural beliefs and may take years to influence.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1984

The circumcision controversy: an update.

One constructive feature has come out of all of the circumcision controversy. It has made us aware that neonatal circumcision is not a simple procedure and that it should not be regarded as "routine." It is a surgical procedure and it should be taught as one. The authors of this article wrote a review article on circumcision in 1981 and Dr. Grossman has recently published a book designed to teach proper circumcision technique, and to familiarize the operator with the common congenital anomalies as well as the prevention and treatment of the complications of circumcision. The advocacy of neonatal circumcision cannot be considered as a cut and dried issue. For some, it has an absolute religious indication, which transcends current medical logic. For others the available facts still allow for a decision based on one's perception of those facts. If one has the perception that there is value in improving local hygiene, or that the loss of the prepuce will allow for an earlier discovery of a penile lesion, or that circumcision actually does cause a decrease in the incidence of penile or cervical cancer, or group conformity is important, then one might well advocate neonatal circumcision. If, however, one sees the potential values as insignificant in light of the lack of hard data relating circumcision to penile or cervical cancer, and that if one is concerned with the "rape of the phallus," then one is against routine neonatal circumcision. But, this individual must be aware that a small percentage of males will need a circumcision at a later time in life, when technical and psychological problems may lead to an increased morbidity. The decision of the physician, and the advice given to the new parents, at present, appears to be more subjective than the advice concerning RhoGAM, or DPT immunization, although it occasionally is given with as much certainty. We are dealing with the art of medicine rather than science. On this basis, rather than deride each other for positions taken, and religious considerations aside, we would do much better to develop better scientific studies to answer the scientific questions. Today's tendency to make decisions on evaluation of the risk:benefit ratio is clearly difficult if both are not adequately quantitated. Until these are available the decision of whether or not to circumcise must result from an objective discussion between the doctor and the parents of newborn males.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Bible↗
PubMed1996

Neonatal circumcision revisited. Fetus and Newborn Committee, Canadian Paediatric Society.

OBJECTIVE: To assist physicians in providing guidance to parents regarding neonatal circumcision. OPTIONS: Whether to recommend the routine circumcision of newborn male infants. OUTCOMES: Costs and complications of neonatal circumcision, the incidence of urinary tract infections, sexually transmitted diseases and cancer of the penis in circumcised and uncircumcised males, and of cervical cancer in their partners, and the costs of treating these diseases. EVIDENCE: The literature on circumcision was reviewed by the Fetus and Newborn Committee of the Canadian Paediatric Society. During extensive discussion at meetings of the committee over a 24-month period, the strength of the evidence was carefully weighed and the perspective of the committee developed. VALUES: The literature was assessed to determine whether neonatal circumcision improves the health of boys and men and is a cost-effective approach to preventing penile problems and associated urinary tract conditions. Religious and personal values were not included in the assessment. BENEFITS, HARMS AND COSTS: The effect of neonatal circumcision on the incidence of urinary tract infection, sexually transmitted diseases, cancer of the penis, cervical cancer and penile problems; the complications of circumcision; and estimates of the costs of neonatal circumcision and of the treatment of later penile conditions, urinary tract infections and complications of circumcision. RECOMMENDATION: Circumcision of newborns should not be routinely performed. VALIDATION: This recommendation is in keeping with previous statements on neonatal circumcision by the Canadian Paediatric Society and the American Academy of Pediatrics. The statement was reviewed by the Infectious Disease Committee of the Canadian Paediatric Society. The Board of Directors of the Canadian Paediatric Society has reviewed its content and approved it for publication. SPONSOR: This is an official statement of the Canadian Paediatric Society. No external financial support has been received by the Canadian Paediatric Society, or its members, for any portion of the statement's preparation.

Canada↗
PubMed2001

Circumcision for the prevention of significant bacteriuria in boys.

The aim of this study was to determine whether circumcision affects significant bacteriuria in boys. During a 60-month prospective study, 100 boys with microbiologically confirmed symptomatic urinary tract infection (UTI) were evaluated. Twelve patients with abnormal ultrasonography findings were excluded from the study. Eighteen of the boys had not been circumcised due to parental choice. The remaining 70 boys with normal renal ultrasonography were randomly allocated into two groups. In the first group 35 boys ranging in age from 6 months to 10 years (mean 33.2+/-30.9 months) were observed for 6 months and urinary cultures were taken monthly. When they had a positive urine culture (with or without any symptoms), they received antibiotic treatment. After 6 months they were circumcised and then observed for another 6-month period. Group 2 comprised 35 boys aged from 3 months to 9 years (mean 29.1+/-36.7 months). They were circumcised immediately after the first UTI and were followed for 6 months. Urine samples were obtained by the bag technique in infants and by the mid-stream technique in older patients. In the uncircumcised group, the rate of significant bacteriuria per patient did not change in two 6-month follow-up periods (3.46+/-0.91 and 3.33+/-0.97 episodes). In group 1, the rate of positive urine cultures dropped from 3.57+/-1.11 to 0.14+/-0.35 episodes after circumcision (P<0.001). In the second group, the rate of significant bacteriuria was 0.17+/-0.38 episodes after circumcision. Among the uncircumcised patients, symptomatic UTI was observed in 6 cases (3 cases in the first period of group 1, 1 case in the first and 2 cases in the second period of the uncircumcised group), whereas after circumcision no patient had symptomatic UTI. The mean age at circumcision was 42.7+/-28.4 months. No complication due to circumcision occurred in any patient. UTI may also occur in boys after the 1st year of life. The present study indicated that circumcision in boys decreases the rate of positive urine cultures. Therefore circumcision could be considered as a part of UTI therapy.

Bacteriuria↗
PubMed2002

The decline of female circumcision in Egypt: evidence and interpretation.

Female circumcision is widespread in Egypt. Research suggests that the practice persists because of a belief that circumcision will moderate female sexuality, that it will assure a girl's marriagability, and that it is sanctioned by Islam. Using data from a nationally representative survey of adolescents, this paper investigates the prevalence and social correlates of circumcision among girls aged 10-19, the circumstances surrounding the procedure, and the attitudes of adolescents towards it. While the vast majority of adolescents are circumcised, a life table analysis indicates that girls today are at least 10 percentage points less likely to undergo female circumcision than were their mothers. Circumcision may have begun to decline prior to the time when the current cohort of girls were at risk; however, the data hint at a temporal association between the decline and the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) in Cairo, a time when the campaign against circumcision gained momentum. Over half of circumcised girls reported that the procedure was performed by a physician or nurse rather than a traditional practitioner. This represents a substantial increase over rates of "medicalized" circumcision found among earlier cohorts of Egyptian women. Even among circumcised girls, support for the practice is by no means universal, with 14 percent saying they think the procedure is unnecessary and a further 28 percent expressing ambivalence. A multivariate analysis indicates that girls who have been or are currently in school, who live in urban governorates, and who are older are more likely to believe that circumcision is not obligatory. When the analysis includes boys as well as uncircumcised girls, a large gender gap emerges, with boys considerably more supportive of the practice than are their female counterparts.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2002

The effects of type of female circumcision on infertility and fertility in Sudan.

This study explores the association between type of female circumcision and infertility and fertility in Sudan using the 1989-90 Demographic and Health Survey. It is hypothesized that women with either Pharaonic or Intermediate circumcision would have higher infertility and lower fertility compared with women with Sunna circumcision, and that uncircumcised women would have the lowest infertility and highest fertility of the three groups. This hypothesis, a widely held assumption, proved to be largely incorrect. Though women with Pharaonic or Intermediate circumcision did have a higher prevalence of primary infertility than uncircumcised women, women with Sunna circumcision had even lower rates of primary infertility compared with uncircumcised women. This pattern prevailed in multivariate models controlling for confounding variables, where women with Pharaonic or Intermediate circumcision had significantly higher primary infertility. Moreover, though women with Pharaonic or Intermediate circumcision also had the highest prevalence of secondary infertility, once confounding covariates were controlled in multivariate models, there was no significant difference among the three groups of women. With respect to fertility, the total fertility rate was 7.6 for women with Pharaonic or Intermediate circumcision, 8.1 for women with Sunna circumcision and 8.3 for uncircumcised women. Differences in fertility were found to be insignificant when covariates were controlled. The multivariate models were estimated using logistic regression. In conclusion, Pharaonic or Intermediate circumcision may be associated with higher primary infertility while there was no evidence suggesting that either secondary infertility or fertility was associated with a woman's circumcision status.

Circumcision, Female↗
PubMed2003

Circumcision practice patterns in South Korea: community based survey.

OBJECTIVES: To assess the prevalence of circumcision in South Korean young men dwelling in the community, investigate attitudes and perspectives about circumcision, and how they perceive physician involvement in the decision process. METHODS: Between May and November 2001, this cross sectional survey was performed. Of 27 202 men aged 20 years dwelling in the community of Choong-chung South Province, 2700 were randomly selected at a 10.0% sampling fraction after a sampling process by census district and a total of 1742 (64.5%) agreed to participate in the study. These subjects completed self administered questionnaires and we included 1674 men (a response rate 62.0%) in the study. RESULTS: The overall proportion of circumcised was 1306 (78.0%) and an additional 192 (11.5%) wished to be circumcised later. Circumcision was carried out mostly during their elementary and middle school years. Of men circumcised, the decision whether to circumcise was most often made by their parents. Of the subjects, 75.0% believed that circumcision is necessary, while 2.9% believed it to be unnecessary. Among those who believed circumcision to be necessary, the most common reason was to improve penile hygiene (89.1%). CONCLUSIONS: Our results indicate a positive attitude toward circumcision in South Korean men, linking it with hygienic practices. Circumcision in South Korea depends on the perpetuation of cultural beliefs that support it.

Adult↗
PubMed1999

Postneonatal circumcision with local anesthesia: a cost-effective alternative.

PURPOSE: Despite the controversy regarding the need for routine neonatal circumcision, most boys in the United States are circumcised. Physicians are commonly asked to perform circumcision after the neonatal period and are often unaware of the cost factors related to the timing and location of postneonatal circumcision. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We describe the medical and financial advantages of postneonatal circumcision with local versus general anesthesia. RESULTS: During a 30-month period 245 boys 6 months to 15 years old underwent circumcision under general anesthesia in the operating room. Hospital charges (facility and equipment) averaged $1,555 and anesthesia charges averaged $250. Therefore, the average cost for circumcision in the operating room was $1,805. During the same time period 287 infants 3 days to 9 months old (20% older than 3 months) underwent circumcision under local anesthesia in an office setting. The facility and equipment charge for these office procedures averaged $196. Overall, approximately $461,783 were saved in this 30-month period ($184,713 annually) by performing circumcision with local anesthesia in an office setting rather then in the operating room with general anesthesia. There was no significant difference in complication rates between the local and general anesthesia groups (1.4 versus 1.6%). CONCLUSIONS: Circumcision with local anesthesia can be performed easily and safely during the first several months of life and has many advantages. Parents prefer this method because it is more convenient and eliminates the risk of general anesthesia. The enormous cost savings using local as opposed to general anesthesia should prompt a reexamination of the location and timing of postneonatal circumcision.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2000

A trade-off analysis of routine newborn circumcision.

BACKGROUND: The risks associated with newborn circumcision have not been as extensively evaluated as the benefits. OBJECTIVES: The goals of this study were threefold: 1) to derive a population-based complication rate for newborn circumcision; 2) to calculate the number needed to harm for newborn circumcision based on this rate; and 3) to establish trade-offs based on our complication rates and published estimates of the benefits of circumcision including the prevention of urinary tract infections and penile cancer. METHODS: Using the Comprehensive Hospital Abstract Reporting System for Washington State, we retrospectively examined routine newborn circumcisions performed over 9 years (1987-1996). We used International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision codes to identify both circumcisions and complications and limited our analyses to children without other surgical procedures performed during their initial birth hospitalization. RESULTS: Of 354, 297 male infants born during the study period, 130,475 (37%) were circumcised during their newborn stay. Overall 287 (.2%) of circumcised children and 33 (.01%) of uncircumcised children had complications potentially associated with circumcision coded as a discharge diagnosis. Based on our findings, a complication can be expected in 1 out every 476 circumcisions. Six urinary tract infections can be prevented for every complication endured and almost 2 complications can be expected for every case of penile cancer prevented. CONCLUSIONS: Circumcision remains a relatively safe procedure. However, for some parents, the risks we report may outweigh the potential benefits. This information may help parents seeking guidance to make an informed decision.

Circumcision, Male↗
PubMed1999

Circumcision in various Nigerian and Kenyan hospitals.

OBJECTIVE: To present and evaluate circumcision practices in Nigerian and Kenyan Africans. DESIGN: Continuous prospective study involving:- two hundred and forty-nine consecutive circumcisions performed from 1981 to 1998 and; fifty patients with post circumcision complications referred for further management during the same period. SETTING: Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Duro-Soleye Hospital and First Foundation Medical Centre in Lagos, Nigeria; and Kenyatta National Hospital, Mater Misericordiae and Nairobi Hospital in Nairobi, Kenya. SUBJECTS: Males of all ages presenting for circumcision and males of all ages referred with post circumcision complications. RESULTS: One hundred and fifty-two (61.04%) of circumcisions performed were in adolescents and young adults for cultural initiation into 'manhood'. The remaining seventy-nine (31.73%) neonates were circumcised for religious, parental, cultural and medical reasons. Eighty per cent of the patients referred with circumcision complications were initially circumcised by unqualified traditional "surgeons". One patient (2%) died from septicaemia; two patients (4%) lost their penis from gangrene and five other patients (10%) remained with permanent disability from complete or partial amputation of the penis or glans. CONCLUSION: This study shows that circumcision is a commonly performed operation but can have serious, life shattering and prolonged complications sometimes resulting in death. It should therefore be performed only in medical institutions under sterile conditions and by suitably trained surgeons for specific medical indications. Ritual circumcision whether mass or single for cultural or religious reasons remains controversial without medical benefit and should be discouraged.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2003

Circumcision for phimosis and other medical indications in Western Australian boys.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the incidence rate of circumcision for phimosis and other medically indicated reasons in Western Australian boys from 1 January 1981 to 31 December 1999. DESIGN AND SETTING: A population-based incidence study using hospital discharge data of all circumcisions performed in all WA hospitals during the study period. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Changes in the incidence rate of circumcision for medically indicated reasons. RESULTS: The rate of medically indicated circumcisions increased in boys aged less than 15 years during the study period. Phimosis was the most common medical indication for circumcision in all age groups. The rate of circumcision associated with phimosis was eight times that associated with balanoposthitis and 21 times that of balanitis xerotica obliterans. Boys aged less than five years had the highest rate of circumcision to treat phimosis, at 4.6 per 1000 person-years, representing about 300 circumcisions per year. Boys aged less than five years living in country areas were 1.5 times more likely to be circumcised for phimosis than boys living in metropolitan Perth. CONCLUSION: The rate of circumcision to treat phimosis in boys aged less than 15 years is seven times the expected incidence rate for phimosis. Many boys are circumcised before reaching five years of age, despite phimosis being rare in this age group.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1999

Circumcision and neonatal tetanus: disclosure of risk and its reduction by topical antibiotics.

BACKGROUND: Previous case-control studies have paradoxically suggested that circumcisions protect against neonatal tetanus (NNT), but these observations have not been adjusted for differences in the length of survival of cases and controls. METHODS: Boy cases (n = 133) and their sex-matched controls (n = 399) were extracted from a population-based study of NNT undertaken in Punjab Province, Pakistan. In the resulting file, circumcisions were censored such that analysis was restricted to only those that occurred before onset in cases or before age of onset in the matched case for controls. The effect of topical antibiotics in circumcision wounds was then evaluated. RESULTS: After adjusting for confounders, circumcision before onset posed a significant risk for NNT (matched odds ratio [OR] = 3.1, 95% CI: 1.2-8.0). The risk of NNT in those circumcised before onset and treated with topical antibiotics did not differ significantly from the referent group who had not been circumcised before onset (matched OR = 1.1, 95% CI: 0.2-6.8), whereas the lack of topical use was associated with significant risk (matched OR = 4.2, 95% CI: 1.4-12.6). This suggests that topical antibiotics are likely to be highly effective in preventing NNT from circumcision wounds. We estimated an overall risk of about 16 fatal NNT cases per 1000 live boy births with circumcision wounds that were not protected by topical antibiotics, and that circumcision and umbilical wounds each accounted for about half of this overall risk in these boys. CONCLUSIONS: Topical antibiotics should be routinely applied to all wounds created by traditional circumcisions, to prevent NNT and sepsis from these frequently unsterile procedures.

Administration, Topical↗
PubMed1997

Aspects of male circumcision in sub-equatorial African culture history.

This paper describes the general cultural background of male circumcision for the Bantu speaking peoples of sub-equatorial Africa. Where the contemporary cultural context of male circumcision is now variable and often transformed amongst groups who continue the practice, traditional practices were commonly of a particular and rather narrow profile linked to the toughening, training and initiation of male adolescents into warrior status. For those groups the normal social context of circumcision was in the adolescent rites of passage typically called 'initiation schools' in the ethnographic literature. These in turn were highly associated with 'age-grades', age ranked male cohorts whose membership was defined by participation in the same initiation schools in the same year. Linguistic evidence suggests the schools and circumcision are very ancient and typological arguments suggest that those Bantu groups which do not circumcise males have abandoned a once more widespread practice. In the main, the Bantu groups which do not circumcise males belong to certain contiguous linguistic groups and their neighbours from amongst bordering Bantu subgroups. Almost all groups which have abandoned male circumcision have also abandoned initiation schools and age-grades. This constitutes a culture area in terms of those dimensions of those societies. Circumcising and non-circumcising groups are suggested to have their distribution due to diffusion of loss and it cannot be expected that differential risk behaviours in relation to HIV infection will be found to sort similarly amongst Bantu-speaking or other African peoples. But such mapping, for those who would do it, can now take place with the knowledge that a cluster of cultural traits typify the non-circumcising Bantu groups.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1998

Epididymitis in children: the circumcision factor?

PURPOSE: Recommendations for circumcision have significantly altered in the last several years. Studies have objectively established an increased risk of urinary tract infection in uncircumcised boys. We evaluated the relationship between epididymitis and circumcision status. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We studied the relationships among the circumcision status of 36 consecutive boys with epididymitis in a review of 128 with acute scrotal inflammation (group 1), circumcision status of 43 in whom the diagnosis of epididymitis at discharge home had been made elsewhere (group 2), New York State hospital discharge figures for circumcision in newborns (group 3) and the regional prevalence of circumcision in 200 consecutive pediatric emergency department patients at the same institution with nonurological diagnoses (group 4). RESULTS: New York State Department figures indicate that 70% of male newborns are discharged home with a hospital code for circumcision. Similarly an evaluation of 200 consecutive male patients without urological diagnoses younger than 18 years in the emergency department revealed that 131 (65%) were circumcised. Comparatively in groups 1 and 2 only 25 and 26% of patients, respectively, were circumcised. The statistical difference in circumcision status among the 4 groups was significant (p >0.0004). CONCLUSIONS: These data demonstrate with highly statistical significance that a relationship exists between epididymitis and the presence of a foreskin. We found that an intact foreskin is an important etiological factor in boys with epididymitis.

Acute Disease↗