Evaluation of scrotal pigmentation in infants with spectroscopic method and its correlation with 17-hydroxyprogesterone blood levels

Aim: To evaluate the scrotal melanin density in infants using spectrometry and to determine the correlation between spectrometric evaluations, physical examinations and blood 17-hydroxyprogesterone levels.Material and methods: A total of 40 infants were enrolled to the study, 22 of whom were diagnosed by a physician as having scrotal hyperpigmentation and 18 with normal scrotal pigmentation, who were admitted for the evaluation of prolonged jaundice. Age, gestational week, birth weight and scrotal pigmentation noted by the physician were recorded. Spectral data were acquired from scrotum and thigh. A correlation between the spectral measurements and the blood 17-hydroxyprogesterone level was determined by comparing spectral value in the wavelength range of 620-800 nm and 17-hydroxyprogesterone levels. Results: No statistically significant difference was observed between the groups who were categorized by the physician as having “hyperpigmented” or “normal” scrotal color in terms of the infant’s age, gestational week, birth weight, 17-hydroxyprogesterone level or spectrometric values. We observed a strong correlation between 17-hydroxyprogesterone levels and spectrometric values in all groups.Conclusion: This preliminary study is the first one in the literature which evaluates scrotal pigmentation with an objective spectrometric method and determines its relationship with 17-hydroxyprogesterone levels. Further studies are needed to employ this method as a non-invasive, indirect screening test for the screening of congenital adrenal hyperplasia in male infants.