Predictive factors for testicular atrophy in children with testicular torsion following orchiopexy
10.3760/cma.j.cn112330-20240913-00411
- VernacularTitle:儿童睾丸扭转固定术后睾丸萎缩的预测因素
- Author:
Wenjie WANG
1
;
Weiping ZHANG
1
Author Information
1. 国家儿童医学中心 首都医科大学附属北京儿童医院泌尿外科，北京 10045
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- Keywords:
Child;
Testicular torsion;
Orchiopexy;
Testicular atrophy;
Predictive factors
- From:
Chinese Journal of Urology
2025;46(9):704-710
- CountryChina
- Language:Chinese
-
Abstract:
Objective:To explore the predictive factors for testicular atrophy in children with testicular torsion following orchiopexy.Methods:The clinical data of 82 patients with testicular torsion and orchiopexy admitted to Beijing Children’s Hospital Affiliated to Capital Medical University between October 2015 and September 2021 were retrospectively analyzed. The age was 147（110，162）months. Among these patients，62 presented with scrotal pain as the initial symptom，while 20 exhibited atypical symptoms. Regarding referral history，36 cases had no referrals，39 cases had one referral，and 7 cases had two or more referrals. Preoperative testicular ultrasonography revealed homogeneous echotexture in 24 cases and heterogeneous echotexture in 58 cases. Testicular blood flow was normal in 3 cases，reduced in 17 cases，and absent in 62 cases. Testicular torsion was considered at first diagnosis，testicular exploration was performed，and testicular fixation was performed if the testicle was viable. If bilateral testicular ultrasound examination was performed over 3 months after the operation，and the results showed that the difference in volume（TVL）between the affected testicle and the unaffected testicle was >50% or the blood flow in the affected testicle was absent，it was defined as testicular atrophy. If no ultrasound examination was performed over 3 months after the operation，but the ultrasound examination within 3 months after the operation indicated the absence of blood flow in the affected testicle，it was also defined as testicular atrophy. Univariate analysis was used to compare the clinical data between the two groups according to whether there was testicular atrophy or not. Multivariate logistic regression was used to analyze the independent risk factors associated with postoperative testicular atrophy. The predictive value of each factor was analyzed by receiver operating characteristic（ROC）curve.Results:Of the 82 patients，32（39.0%）had testicular atrophy after surgery.Patients presenting with atypical initial symptoms exhibited a significantly higher incidence of testicular atrophy compared to those with scrotal pain［75.0%（15/20）vs. 27.4%（17/62）， P<0.001］. Additionally，patients who underwent ≥2 referrals demonstrated a markedly elevated rate of testicular atrophy relative to those with 0 or 1 referral［100.0%（7/7）vs. 33.3%（12/36）vs. 33.3%（13/39）， P=0.002］. The incidence of testicular atrophy varied significantly depending on the level of the hospital where the patient was initially diagnosed：primary hospitals（100.0%，5/5），secondary general hospitals（50.0%，6/12），tertiary general hospitals（34.8%，8/23），and tertiary women and children’s hospitals（31.0%，13/42），with statistical significance（ P=0.020）. Furthermore，patients with uneven testicular echogenicity preoperatively were more likely to develop testicular atrophy than those with uniform echogenicity［55.2%（32/58）vs. 0， P<0.001］. Preoperative testicular ultrasonography revealed a significant difference in the rate of testicular atrophy among patients with absent blood flow，reduced blood flow，and normal blood flow［50.0%（31/62）vs. 5.9%（1/17）vs. 0， P=0.001］. Patients experiencing testicular atrophy had a longer preoperative preparation time compared to those without atrophy［median 4.0（3.4，5.1）h vs. 3.5（3.0，4.2）h， P=0.017］. Moreover，the duration of symptoms was significantly longer in patients with testicular atrophy than in those without［25.5（13.0，49.5）h vs. 8.0（6.3，11.8）h， P<0.001］. Finally，contralateral testicular fixation was associated with a higher incidence of testicular atrophy，with a statistically significant difference observed between groups［50.0%（23/46）vs. 25.0%（9/36）， P=0.038］. Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that preoperative testicular ultrasound blood flow loss（ OR = 1.22， P = 0.034），uneven testicular ultrasound echo（ OR = 1.33， P = 0.007），and not performing contralateral testicular fixation（ OR = 0.77， P = 0.003）were independent predictors of postoperative testicular atrophy. The area under the curve（AUC）for predicting postoperative testicular atrophy was 0.68，0.74，and 0.63，respectively. Conclusions:Lack of preoperative testicular ultrasound blood flow and uneven preoperative testicular ultrasound echo have good predictive value for testicular atrophy after testicular torsion testicular fixation in children，and the best predictor is uneven preoperative testicular ultrasound echo. The correlation between contralateral testicular fixation and postoperative testicular atrophy needs further study.
