ACUTE SCROTUM

Background Acute scrotum is regarded as an emergency urological problem, it is a name given to a condition that affect the viability and health of the testis. Although the acute scrotum is defined as acute scrotal swelling with or without pain, most patients present with pain as their primary complaint. Since there are different conditions which could lead to acute scrotum, early diagnosis and management of acute scrotum will greatly protect the testis future. Acute scrotum may be due to simple condition like minor trauma with heamatoma of the scrotal sac and intact testis or a serious condition like testicular torsion. Torsion must be considered in any patient with testicular pain and swelling. It account for about 0.5% of total emergency visits. It should be differentiated from epididymitis, orchitis, trauma, testicular segmental infarction. All together they account for 85% -90% of all cases of acute testicular pain, as their symptoms overlaps. Objective To identify those patients who have acute testis pain due to testicular torsion whom they need urgent operation and to differentiate them from non operative patients. Furthermore to find out the number of patients presented with each pathology during this period and their outcome. Patients and Methods Seventy patients with sudden pain, swelling with or without history of trauma were admitted to Sulaimani Teaching Hospital for diagnosis and treatment. The analysis was made for the etiology, age, disease location, time of occurrence, time of arrivals, diagnosis, treatment were recorded. Results Fifty three had infection, 9 patients had torsion of testis, and 4 patients had torsion of testis appendix, 11 patients had trauma and 3 patients had testicular abscess. Conclusion Proper history, physical examination and color Doppler ultrasound with early interventions directly affect the prognosis.