Knowledge and attitudes about undescended testicles – the need for an educational approach

Abstract

Objective: Considering the poor indicators relating to the age group undergoing orchidopexy for the congenital group with unde- scended testicles, the objective of this article is to investigate the knowledge and attitudes of residents and young specialists in the field of pediatrics, family, and school medicine concerning the above-mentioned issue, given that these specialists are, in most cases, the first from whom parents contact seek help and opinion. Methods: The knowledge and attitudes of residents and young specialists were examined using an anonymous online question- naire, based on the latest knowledge and guidelines. Data collection was carried out using the free Google Forms® program. To de- termine whether the obtained answers deviate from the answers expected under a certain hypothesis, the answers were compared using the chi-square test with a statistical significance level of 5%. Results: The questionnaire was filled out by 129 residents and young specialists, most of whom believe that, during their studies and spe- cialist training, they had not heard and learned enough about undescended testicles, and they considered their knowledge about the problem of undescended testicles to be unsatisfactory, and they had not encountered guidelines in their career detailing the diagnosis and treatment of undescended testicles. The answers to most of the questions were unsatisfactory based on the latest guidelines. Almost two-thirds of the respondents believe that boys with undescended testicles in the Republic of Croatia are not cared for and treated on time, and one-third of the respondents see the key problem in primary pediatricians, family doctors, and school-age medical teams. Conclusions: Considering the well-known consequences of untimely treatment of undescended testicles in boys, the results of the survey analysis, which we cannot be satisfied with, must be approached seriously. Therefore, we encourage future evidence-based educational interventions to provide better information about the problem of undescended testicles and ultimately shift the timing of orchidopexies to an earlier age.