OBJECTIVETo improve the diagnosis and treatment of testicular torsion.

METHODSThe clinical features of 49 testicular torsion patients admitted to Department of Urology Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital from April 2008 to March 2014 were retrospectively analyzed, the average age was (21 ± 6) years (range 13-52 years).Forty-four cases underwent the color Doppler flow imaging of scrotum, demonstrated reduction of the testicular blood supply in 9 cases and loss of the testicular blood supply in 35 cases. Orchiectomy or orchiopexy was performed according to the testicular blood supply, the contralateral testis fixation was performed in all patients. A two-tailed Student's t-test was used to compare the data between two groups, Pearson correlation analysis was used to analyze the correlation of diurnal temperature and number of cases.

RESULTSAll the patients with testicular torsion were Tunica-reversed, 38 (77.5%) cases occurred from November to April. The monthly incidence of testicular torsion was positively correlated with diurnal temperature (r = 0.6434, P = 0.024). Forty-four cases underwent the color Doppler flow imaging, demonstrated the reduction or loss of the testicular blood supply, and these patients were confirmed to be testicular torsion by surgical exploration. The salvage rates of testis in patients with testicular torsion were 2/2, 5/15, 2/9 and 4.2% (1/24) in those seeking medical attention within 6, 12, 24 hours and over 24 hours after the onset of pain. All the patients were followed up for 3 to 75 months, and no one experienced recurrent torsion.

CONCLUSIONSThe incidence of testicular torsion is higher during the spring and winter, diurnal temperature change is associated with testicular torsion. The diagnostic rate of color Doppler flow imaging is high, which can be chosen as the primary method. Prompt recognition and treatment are necessary for testicular salvage.