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.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Humans ; Incidence ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Orchiectomy ; Retrospective Studies ; Scrotum ; surgery ; Seasons ; Spermatic Cord Torsion ; diagnosis ; epidemiology ; Temperature ; Testis ; surgery ; Young Adult

Testicular torsion is a surgical emergency in the field of urology. Knowledge of the epidemiology and pathophysiology is significant to an urologist. However, the epidemiology of testicular torsion in Korea has not been studied. We performed a nationwide epidemiological study to improve knowledge of the epidemiology of testicular torsion. From 2006-2011, the Korean Urologic Association began the patient registry service. The annual number of patients with testicular torsion from 2006 to 2011 were 225, 250, 271, 277, 345, and 210, respectively. The overall incidence of testicular torsion in males was 1.1 per 100,000; However, the incidence in men less than 25 yr old was 2.9 per 100,000. Adolescents showed the highest incidence. Total testicular salvage rate was 75.7% in this survey. There was no geographic difference of testicular salvage rate. Minimizing the possibility of orchiectomy for testicular torsion is important to improve public awareness to expedite presentation and provider education to improve diagnosis and surgery.
Adolescent ; Age Distribution ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Humans ; Incidence ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Korea/epidemiology ; Male ; Orchiectomy/*statistics & numerical data ; Republic of Korea/epidemiology ; Retrospective Studies ; Risk Factors ; Spermatic Cord Torsion/diagnosis/*epidemiology/*surgery ; Treatment Outcome ; Young Adult