Penile length of newborns and children in Surakarta, Indonesia

• Main Authors: Annang Giri Moelyo, Melita Widyastuti
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Indonesian Pediatric Society Publishing House 2013-04-01
• Series: Paediatrica Indonesiana
• Subjects: penile length, newborn, child, Javanese
• Online Access: https://paediatricaindonesiana.org/index.php/paediatrica-indonesiana/article/view/252
• ISSN: 0030-9311; 2338-476X

Background Penile length is a factor for assessing abnormalities in external genitalia. To diagnose micropenis, a condition in which penile length is < - 2.5 standard deviations (SD), a reference is required for diagnosis. Age and race/ethnic groups are factors that contribute to normal penile length. To date, Indon esia does not have such a reference for normal penile length in newborns and children. Objective To assess normal penile length in newborns and children in Surakarta, Central Java, in which the majority population is ofJavanese ethnicity. Methods We studied male newborns and children who were patients in Moewardi Hospital from January 2011 to January 2012. We included males aged 0-18 years whose parents provided informed consent. We excluded children with undescended testis, hypospadia, ambiguous genitalia, con genital anomalies, or syndromes (such as Down syndrome). For penile len gth measurements, we stretched the flaccid penis, depressed the pubic fat and placed a wooden spatula vertically along the dorsal penis. The penile length was measured from the penile base to the tip of the glans excluding the prepuce. Measurements were performed three times and a mean value was calculated for each subject. Results Of the 300 subjects, 100 were newborns and 200 were children aged 1 month - 18 years. Two hundred ninety-six subjects (98.7%) were Javanese. The mean penile lengths of preterm (gestational age 30-36 weeks) and term (gestational age > 36 weeks) newborns were 1.88 (SD 0.14) cm and 2.3 7 (SD 0.26) cm, respectively. The mean penile lengths by age groupings were as follows: 0-<6 months, 2.67 (SD 0.58) cm; 6- < 12 months, 2.67 (SD 0.58) cm; 1- <3 years, 2.80 (SD 0.84) cm; 3-<5 years, 3 .50 (SD 0.55) cm; 5- <7 years, 3 .50 (SD 0.71) cm; 7-<9 years, 3 .85 (SD 0.53 ) cm; 9-<ll years, 4.50 (SD 0.71) cm; 11-< 13 years, 4.63 (SD 1.13) cm; 13-< 15 years, 5.53 (SD 1.45) cm; and 15-18 years, 6.16 (SD 1.19) cm. Conclusion Normal penile length in boys in Surakarta is smaller than the normal range reference currently in use.