Vesicoureteral reflux increases the risk of urinary tract infection prior to corrective surgery in newborn males with anorectal malformation

Purpose: The ideal colostomy type indicated for patients with anorectal malformation (ARM) is disputed. The aim of this study was to analyze the clinical factors associated with urinary tract infection (UTI) prior to corrective surgery in male ARM without perineal fistula having undergone diverting enterostomy. Methods: A retrospective review of patients diagnosed with ARM and surgically managed at our center from January 2011 to December 2019 was performed. Logistic regression was used to analyze the association between clinical factors and UTI. Results: Eighty boys with ARM without perineal fistula underwent diverting enterostomy and subsequent corrective surgery via laparoscopic-assisted anorectal pull-through. A sigmoid loop colostomy was most often performed (70 patients, 87.5%). Twenty-nine patients (36.3%) were diagnosed with vesicoureteral reflux (VUR), including 14 (48.3%) with febrile UTIs. Six patients had other concomitant genitourinary anomalies excluding VUR. Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed the presence of VUR as the only independent factor associated with the occurrence of febrile UTI (OR 17.3, 95% CI 3.51–85.26, p < 0.001). Conclusion: The development of UTI in newborn males with ARM is associated with the presence of VUR, regardless of stoma type. Voiding cystourethrography should be considered in patients with ARM for early diagnosis of VUR and subsequent antibiotic prophylaxis.