Scrotal Trauma Treatment and Outcomes

Genitourinary tract injuries have been reported to account for 3% to 10% of trauma patients, and scrotal injuries have been reported to comprise 71% of male genital trauma. Scrotal trauma is particularly prevalent in males 10 to 30 years of age, thus posing a potential threat to fertility. Scrotal trauma can be blunt or penetrating in nature, and the mechanism of trauma can have an impact on the management and outcomes of this type of injury.

A retrospective chart review of adult patients who presented with scrotal trauma to a single large level I trauma center from January 1, 2000, to June 1, 2022, was conducted to assess the relative occurrence and type of trauma (blunt vs penetrating), as well as differences in the management, duration of hospital stay, and need for orchiectomy between these 2 types of injury.

There were 102 patients included in this study, with an average age of 39.5 years (18.7-77.2 years). Fifty-six patients had blunt scrotal trauma, and 46 had penetrating scrotal injury. There was not a statistically significant difference in the percentages of blunt versus penetrating trauma (P < = 0.3729). Patients with penetrating trauma were more likely to be inpatient than those with blunt trauma (69.6% vs 42.9%; P < = 0.013; 95% CI, 0.062-0.473). A total of 61 patients were treated conservatively (44 and 17 patients in the blunt and penetrating trauma groups, respectively). Overall, 41 patients required surgical intervention: 12 who had blunt trauma and 29 who suffered penetrating injury. Surgical treatment was more common for penetrating trauma than for blunt trauma (63.0% vs 21.4%; P <0.0001; 95% CI, 0.220-0.612). Eleven patients underwent orchiectomy - 4 from the blunt trauma group and 7 from the penetrating trauma group; the rate of orchiectomy was not significantly different between the 2 groups.

In this study, blunt scrotal trauma was slightly more common than penetrating injury, but the difference did not reach statistical significance. Blunt scrotal trauma was associated with a higher rate of conservative treatment. Further study is needed to better understand the impact of scrotal trauma on future fertility.