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Introduction Although the age between the 6th and 12th months of life is considered to be optimal for the surgical treatment of cryptorchidism, a substantial part of the operations is carried out at a later age. Objective To evaluate the incidence of acquired cryptorchidism in boys who were operated upon on completing 3 years of age. Material and methods In the years 2010–2013 at the University Children's Hospital in Bialystok 328 orchidopexies in 318 boys were performed. 61.6% of the procedures were carried out after completion of 3 years of age. Results 19% of the boys who have orchidopexies carried out after 3 years of age had not been qualified for surgical treatment during the first examination because testes could be manipulated into the scrotum. After 1.5 to 11 years (mean 2.8 year) from the first visit, they were subjected to surgical treatment because gonads could no longer be moved to the scrotum. Conclusions Acquired cryptorchidism was documented in 19% of the boys operated after 3 years of age. This phenomenon explains a significant number of orchidopexies performed in older boys.

We evaluated the efficacy and safety of peginterferon alfa-2a [40KD] (Peg-IFNalpha-2a) plus ribavirin in patients with chronic hepatitis C in an open-label programme in a routine clinical setting in Poland. Patients received Peg-IFNalpha-2a 180mg/week plus ribavirin 800-1200 mg/d for 48 weeks. Sustained virological response (SVR) was defined as undetectable HCV RNA (50IU/mL) at the end of follow-up (week 72). 466 adults were enrolled. Most patients (87.3%) had genotype 1 infection. 440 subjects (94,4%) completed treatment. The overall SVR rate was 55.7%. A higher SVR rate was obtained in treatment-naïve patients (58.7%) than in relapsers (47.8%; p=0,048). SVR rates in genotype 1 and non-1 patients were 51.1% and 88.5%, respectively (p0.001). There were significant higher SVR rates in patients with lower baseline fibrosis (p=0,01). There were no differences in SVRs by gender or viral load. Hemoglobin, leukocyte and neutrophil levels decreased significantly during treatment, but returned to baseline after the end of treatment. ALT levels decreased significantly during treatment in patients with and without an SVR. 38.4% of patients experienced adverse events like neutropenia, anemia, thrombocytopenia, and other. There was one death (severe thrombocytopenia).The overall SVR achieved in this predominantly genotype 1 population was 55.7%. SVR rates were significantly higher in treatment-naïve patients, those with non-1 genotypes, and in patients with lower baseline fibrosis scores.