CRYPTORCHIDISM - TREATMENT WITH HUMAN CHORIONIC-GONADOTROPIN - A VENEZUELAN EXPERIENCE

The study comprised 323 cryptorchidic boys, between 6 months and 14 ye ars of age (mean age 5.68 years) with 440 maldescended testes. Testicu lar position was graded as inguinal low or prescrotal (I), inguinal mi ddle OI), inguinal high (III), and abdominal testes (IV). Boys before 4 years of age received human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) as intramus cular injections (IM), 500 IU twice a week for 5 weeks; and boys 4 or more years of age received hCG CIM), 1000 IU twice a week for 5 weeks. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the response of maldesc ended testes to treatment with hCG, and to investigate possible associ ations between the patients' ages and position of the testes with the response to hCG. Out of the 440 maldescended testes, 329 were in an in guinal location (75%) and 111 were abdominally located (25%). The over all response to hCG was 40%, and the inguinal testes response was 49%, with the highest success rates (72%) for the prescrotal testes. A pos itive correlation was found (p <.0001) between the rate of success and the testicular position. There was no association between the hCG res ponse and the age at which treatment was initiated.