Effect of neonatal circumcision on pain responses during vaccination in boys

It was found that boys had higher pain scores than girls when receiving DPT vaccine at the age 4-6 months. The pain scores had been evaluated by a blind observer who took into account face, cry and body movements. The boys were divided into two groups, circumcised and non-circumcised. The circumcised infants had higher pain scores (8 versus 6, p=0.01) and cried longer (53 secs versus 19, p=0.02). Thus neonatal circumcision may affect pain response several months after the event.