Explorative surgery for acute scrotal pain: The importance of patient age, side affected, time to surgery and surgeon

Is Being Overweight a Risk Factor for Torsion of the Appendix Testis in Children?: A Paired Case-Control Study

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to determine whether being overweight during childhood is a risk factor for torsion of the appendix testis (TAT).

METHODS

We conducted a paired case-control study with all boys surgically treated for TAT, paired by age and sex with patients who were seen in the emergency department for a reason other than acute scrotum. Age and weight were registered, and weight percentile (WP) by age was calculated and compared between groups. Weight percentile was classified into 4 groups (<25, 25-50, 50-75, >75), and a conditional logistic regression analysis was performed to establish the risk of TAT related to the WP.

RESULTS

A total of 980 patients were diagnosed as having TAT in our institution, of which 118 patients (12%) were surgically treated and randomly paired with 118 controls. Mean age was the same in both groups (11.2 years, P = 0.908). Patients with TAT had a higher median of WP (79; interquartile range, 49-94) than the control group (49; interquartile range, 20-79; P < 0.0001). For each WP point increase, risk of TAT raised by 2.2% (odds ratio [OR], 1.022; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.011-1.032; P < 0.001). Weight percentile >75 increased the risk of TAT: 6-fold compared with WP <25 (OR, 5.9; 95% CI, 2.5-14; P < 0.001), 4-fold compared with WP of 25 to 50 (OR, 4.3; 95% CI, 1.8-10.5; P = 0.001), and 3-fold compared with WP of 50 to 75 (OR, 3.3; 95% CI, 1.5-7.6; P = 0.004).

CONCLUSIONS

Overweight increases the risk of being operated on because of TAT. Because obesity is a rising problem, a greater incidence of TAT remains to be proved.

Accuracy of point-of-care ultrasound by pediatric emergency physicians for testicular torsion

INTRODUCTION

Acute scrotum is a common presentation to the pediatric emergency department, and ultrasound is frequently used to narrow the differential diagnosis. Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) is increasingly used by urologists and emergency physicians and could potentially be used to detect pediatric testicular torsion.

OBJECTIVES

This study aimed to determine the accuracy of POCUS by pediatric emergency physicians in diagnosing testicular torsion and the agreement between point-of-care ultrasound and final diagnosis for other causes of acute scrotum.

STUDY DESIGN

A chart review of patients presenting to the study emergency department who received POCUS by a pediatric emergency physician, as well as radiology department ultrasound and/or surgery, was performed. Charts were reviewed for POCUS diagnoses, final diagnoses, and imaging time metrics.

RESULTS

A total of 120 patients met study criteria, with 12 cases of testicular torsion. The diagnostic accuracy of POCUS for testicular torsion is described in the summary table. For all causes of acute scrotum, point-of-care ultrasound agreed with final diagnosis in 70% (95% confidence interval [CI] 62-78%) of cases, and more experienced point-of-care ultrasound users displayed higher agreement with final diagnosis. Point-of-care ultrasound results were generated a median of 73 min (Q1 = 51, Q3 = 112) before radiology department ultrasound results.

DISCUSSION

Scrotal POCUS performed by pediatric emergency physicians appears to be an accurate tool to detect testicular torsion in children with acute scrotum and saves time compared with radiology ultrasound. The study results may not be generalizable to hospitals without a multidisciplinary POCUS system for quality assurance and image sharing. Future work on POCUS for acute scrotum should investigate its impact on patient outcomes, cost-effectiveness, and family satisfaction.

CONCLUSION

Point-of-care ultrasound by pediatric emergency physicians is accurate for detecting testicular torsion in children with acute scrotum and could expedite diagnosis of this time-sensitive condition.

Clinical evaluation of testicular torsion presenting with acute abdominal pain in young males

Objective

To evaluate the features of testicular torsion presenting with acute abdominal pain and to raise awareness of testicular torsion with specific symptoms.

Methods

From October 2005 to June 2016, nine patients with testicular torsion who presented with isolated acute abdominal pain rather than scrotal pain as their primary symptom were retrospectively reviewed. Data, including the age of patients, season at admission, initial medical history, external genital examination, emergency ultrasound findings, operative findings, duration of abdominal pain, complications, and follow-up results, were collected.

Results

The average age of patients was 14 years (range 10–17 years). Seven patients whose genitals were not initially examined externally were misdiagnosed as having ordinary abdominal diseases. Surgical exploration revealed that all the involved testes necrotized, and orchidectomy was performed. In the other two patients, scrotal and testicular abnormalities were detected immediately on admission, and emergency surgical exploration determined that the involved testis remained vital, so orchiopexy was performed. The mean duration from symptom onset to diagnosis was 4 h (3–5 h) in the orchiopexy group and 37 h (18–72 h) in the orchidectomy group. Six patients were psychologically affected during postoperative follow-up. Neither recurrence of testicular torsion nor testicular atrophy was recorded.

Conclusion

Acute abdominal pain can be the initial and sole symptom of testicular torsion in young males. Physicians should pay close attention to the specific clinical presentation of testicular torsion.

The applied value of medical history, physical examination, colour-Doppler ultrasonography and testis scintigraphy in the differential diagnosis of acute scrotum

Acute scrotum, especially testicular torsion, is a common surgical emergency. A delay in diagnosis or management may lead to permanent testicular ischaemic damage. Thus, it is particularly important to differentiate testicular torsion from other acute scrotum conditions as soon as possible. Our study has retrospectively investigated 358 patients with acute scrotum admitted to our hospital from the year 2007 to 2016. We have collected a thorough history and clinical data and drew the conclusion by comparing clinical features of different acute scrotum cases, medical history, imaging and surgical findings. Therefore, we propose an innovative "Testicular Torsion (TT) Green Channel" concept. Through the combination of a comprehensive medical history, physical examination and auxiliary colour-Doppler ultrasonography, the diagnosis of testicular torsion is definite in most circumstances. Testis scintigraphy is a novel and complementary diagnostic modality that can reduce the negative exploration rate in ambiguous and certain cases. The TT Green Channel is a new concept in the management of testicular torsion.