Purpose: To investigate and determine the sonographic findings obtained from manually distorted testes to predict testicular atrophy following manual detorsion.
Materials and methods: Twenty-two patients who had been diagnosed with testicular torsion and undergone manual detorsion were included. These patients were classified according to the presence or absence of testicular atrophy. The duration of symptoms, presence or absence of hyperperfusion within the entire affected testis, and echogenicity (homogeneous or heterogeneous) within the affected testis were compared using the Mann-Whitney U-test or Fisher's exact test, as appropriate.
Results: Testicular atrophy was detected in seven patients. There was a significant difference in the frequency of hyperperfusion within the entire affected testis (with atrophy [present/absent] vs. without atrophy [present/absent] = 0/7 vs. 8/7, P = 0.023) between patients with and without testicular atrophy. No significant differences in the duration of symptoms (with atrophy vs. without atrophy = 7 ± 3.3 h vs. 4.7 ± 3.6 h, P = 0.075) or frequency of echogenicity within the testis (with atrophy [heterogeneous/homogeneous] vs. without atrophy [heterogeneous/homogeneous] = 2/5 vs. 2/13, P = 0.565) were observed between the groups.
Conclusions: This small cohort study suggests that the presence of hyperperfusion within the entire affected testis immediately after successful manual detorsion is useful in predicting the avoidance of testicular atrophy.
Keywords: manual detorsion; sonography; testicular atrophy; testicular compartment syndrome; testicular torsion; ultrasound.
© 2022 Australasian Society for Ultrasound in Medicine.