Significance of Scrotal Ultrasonography on Blunt Scrotal Trauma

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Testicular rupture is a surgical emergency which command immediate repair. If surgery is delayed, a hematoma causes severe pain and loss of spermatogenesis as well as hormonal functions. Scrotal ultrasonography has been helpful in early diagnosis of testicular rupture. But disadvantage of ultrasonography include a relatively low signal-to-noise level, tissue nonspecificity, lack of contrast media, a small field of view, and dependence on the operators skill and the patients physique. Also the diagnostic accuracy, sensitivity or specificity of scrotal ultrasonography was variable in regard to authors. And so, a diagnostic accuracy of scrotal ultrasonography was evaluated in scrotal trauma. METHODS: We reviewed 38 patients of scrotal trauma from May, 1994 to March, 1998. 6 patients were treated conservatively following scrotal sonography and 10 patients treated only surgical exploration without ultrasonography. Surgical exploration was performed in 22 case, which were evaluated by ultrasound before surgical treatment. In a such 22 cases, diagnostic accuracy of scrotal ultrasonography was evaluated. RESULTS: We compared ultrasound before treatment with surgical exploration finding in a such 22 cases. The ultrasonographic features in 7(31.8%) out of 22 cases, which showed testicular ruptured, but surgical exploration revealed testicular rupture in 5 and epididymal rupture in 1, simple hematocele in 1. In 15(68.2%) out of 22 cases the simple hematocele was diagnosed by ultrasonography, but surgical finding feature in of the 7 cases revealed testicular rupture, epididymal rupture in 1, simple hematocele in 7. The sensitivity and specificity for the ultrasonography are 42.9% and 87.5%, and the positive and negative predictive values are 86.5% and 46.7%, respectively. Ultrasonography is low sensitive in identifying testicular rupture. CONCLUSION: Ultrasonography include a relatively low signal-to-noise level, tissue nonspecificity, lack of contrast media, a small field of view, and dependence on the operators skill and the patients physique. Therefore, early surgical exploration for saving the testis should be performed that sonographically by seeing hypoehoic peripheral lesions and disappearance of normal ovoid form of testis, hematocele in scrotal sac.