Anthropometric Predictors of Appropriate-Sized Plastibell for Neonatal Circumcision

BACKGROUND: Using anthropometric parameters to determine the appropriate Plastibell size before circumcision ensures that cumbersome carrying of all the sizes before each procedure is eliminated and also complications reduced. METHODS: Male neonates who presented for routine circumcision by Plastibell method were recruited. Collected on a proforma were their age in days, weight in Kg, stretched penile length (SPL) in cm, penile diameter (PD) in cm and the Plastibell size used by the “circumciser”. The routine circumcision was carried out for each neonate according to protocol. P value was set at <0.05. RESULTS: There were 231 neonates who had Plastibell circumcision. Their mean age, weight, SPL and PD were 15.6(+5.73) days, 3.7(+0.58) Kg, 3.66 (+0.58) cm and 3.79 (+0.64) cm, respectively. Plastibell size 1.3 is the most used (53.6%). There was a positive correlation between weight, SPL, PD, on one hand and Plastibell size , on the other hand with P-values of <0.001, <0.001 and <0.001 respectively. The weight was a weak determinant for Plastibell sizes 1.1 and 1.3: (OR 7.104; 95% CI 1.108 – 45.559; P = .039) and (OR 2.044; 95% CI 1.054 – 3.963; P = .034) respectively. The SPL is also a weak predictor for Plastibell sizes 1.2 and 1.5: (OR 2.176; 95% CI 1.136 -4.136; P = .019) and (OR .043; 95% CI .072 - .984; P = .047), respectively. CONCLUSION: The anthropometric parameters correlate well with Plastibell sizes. However, they are not effective in predicting the appropriate sized Plastibell for neonatal circumcision.