How often are clinicians performing genital exams in children with disorders of sex development?

BACKGROUND: We sought to determine the frequency with which genital exams (GEs) are performed in children with disorders of sex development (DSD) and ambiguous genitalia (AG) during routine visits to the pediatric endocrine clinic.

METHODS: Medical records of children with DSD and AG seen at one large academic center since 2007 were reviewed. Data analyzed included diagnosis, sex of rearing, age, initial or follow up visit, number of individuals present and sex of the pediatric endocrinologist. Repeated measures analysis was performed to evaluate associations between GEs and patient/physician factors.

RESULTS: Eighty-two children with DSD and AG who had a total of 632 visits were identified. Sex of rearing was female in 78% and the most common diagnosis was congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) (68%). GEs were performed in 35.6% of visits. GEs were more likely in patients with male sex of rearing (odds ratio [OR] 17.81, p=0.006), during initial vs. follow-up visits (OR 5.99, p=0.012), and when the examining endocrinologist was female (OR 3.71, p=0.014). As patients aged, GEs were less likely (OR 0.76, p<0.0001).

CONCLUSIONS: GEs were performed in approximately one-third of clinic visits in children with DSD and AG. Male sex of rearing, initial visits and female pediatric endocrinologist were associated with more frequent GEs.