Physicians approach to hypospadias in Kingdom of Bahrain

الملخص EN

Background and objectives: Hypospadias is a congenital condition affecting the urethral opening in males where the opening is present on the underside of the penile shaft rather than at the tip of the glans.

The aim of this research was to evaluate the general knowledge and approach of Pediatricians, Family Physicians and General Practitioners (GP) in the Kingdom of Bahrain towards hypospadias.

Methods: This is a descriptive study in which an anonymous online questionnaire was sent to pediatricians, family physicians and general practitioners in Bahrain.

The questionnaire included both yes and no questions, open ended short answer as well as multiple choice questions.

The questionnaire included components aimed at finding the professional background as well as to assess the knowledge and approach of these physicians regarding hypospadias.

Results: The total number of participants in this study was 60 physicians.

An average of 11.3 years of postgraduate experience was present among the participants.

The average number of hypospadias cases seen per year by the participants was 3.1.

The age of referral to a surgical specialty was on average 4 months and 65% of participants believed that the optimal age for surgery was between 12- 18 months.

A majority of 75% participants believed that there were congenital anomalies associated with hypospadias, with the commonest one described being undescended testis.

Finally, 38 (63.3%) physicians answered that they would refer cases to pediatric surgery while 22 (36.7%) answered that they would refer these cases to pediatric urology.

Conclusion: Most physicians had an appropriate knowledge of when to refer and when to intervene surgically in cases of hypospadias.

However, several components of the approach, including whether it was a hereditary condition or if investigations needed to be performed prior to referral were inaccurate.