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The Pediatric Forum
October 1998

Circumcision and Endocarditis Prophylaxis

Author Affiliations

Not Available

Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 1998;152(10):1038-1039. doi:

The publication of Schlesinger and Urbach's1 endorsement of circumcision being excluded from the list of procedures for which bacterial endocarditis prophylaxis is indicated brings the rhetoric surrounding circumcision to a new level of absurdity. The authors depict antibiotic prophylaxis for a few children with congenital heart disease as dangerous and unnecessary, while missing the point that circumcision is far more dangerous and unnecessary. The potential of antibiotic resistance from short-term prophylactic usage in 0.8% of boys pales in comparison to the risks of penile amputation2 and death from circumcision.

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