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The optimum cut-off value of contralateral testis size in the prediction of monorchidism in children with nonpalpable testis: A systematic review

  • Fateme Tahmasbi
    Affiliations
    Research Center for Evidence-based Medicine, Iranian EBM Centre: A Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) Center of Excellence, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran

    Student Research Committee, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran
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  • Hanieh Salehi-Pourmehr
    Affiliations
    Research Center for Evidence-based Medicine, Iranian EBM Centre: A Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) Center of Excellence, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran
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  • Farzin Soleimanzadeh
    Affiliations
    Research Center for Evidence-based Medicine, Iranian EBM Centre: A Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) Center of Excellence, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran

    Department of Urology, Faculty of Medicine, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran
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  • Fariba Pashazadeh
    Affiliations
    Research Center for Evidence-based Medicine, Iranian EBM Centre: A Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) Center of Excellence, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran
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  • Behzad Lotfi
    Correspondence
    Correspondence to: Behzad Lotfi, Department of Urology, Faculty of Medicine, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Golgasht Street, Tabriz, Iran. Tel.: +984133357328
    Affiliations
    Department of Urology, Faculty of Medicine, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran
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      Summary

      Background

      Contralateral Testis Hypertrophy (CTH) is a clinical marker that could be used to guide the choice of the main surgical strategy. In patients with a Non-palpable Testis (NPT), the degree of CTH as measured by testicular length or volume has been shown to be able to predict whether the undescended testis will survive.

      Objective

      The purpose of this study was to establish the proper cut-off for identifying non-viable testes based on the current literature.

      Design

      We systematically searched several medical databases as well as Google Scholar search engines for references and citations. All the studies that reported CTH as a result of NPT in prepubertal boys were included. Data from the included articles was gathered by two independent reviewers. The checklist developed by the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) was used to evaluate the methodological quality of the studies that were included. Due to the incredibly high degree of heterogeneity among the studies, no meta-analysis was done.

      Results

      The current systematic review included 17 studies that assessed the cut-off point to detect non-viable testis. The size and length of the testes were taken into consideration based on our findings. We found that different studies reported various ideal cut-off values for predicting non-viable testes, which can be brought on by various measuring techniques, evaluation ages, and patient groupings. The difference in testis volume was greater than the difference in its length, which can be attributable to the fact that some studies used an orchidometer to measure the testis's length directly or indirectly.

      Conclusion

      According to the results of our study, it seems that defining a cut point for diagnosis of CTH based on the size of the testis, cannot demonstrate the absence of a non-palpable testis.

      Keywords

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