Differences in Clinical Outcomes and Patients' Characteristics Between Childhood and Adolescent Testicular Torsion

Testicular torsion, a condition requiring urgent intervention, can occur at any age and present with diverse symptoms. To the best of our knowledge, no study has evaluated the characteristics of testicular torsion in childhood, a less common age group. This study showed differences in patients' characteristics between childhood and adolescence and the variation across ages.

The 58 patients included were classified into two groups: childhood (1-9 years) and adolescence (10-16 years). The following patient characteristics were compared between the two groups using Fisher's exact and Mann-Whitney U tests: presence or absence of acute scrotum as the first symptom, period from symptom onset to diagnosis, and whether testicular salvage was achieved. Single linear regression analysis was used for testicular salvage and acute scrotum as first symptom rates to evaluate the relationship between these factors and each age every one year.

Testicular torsion was observed in childhood and adolescence in 11 and 47 of the patients, respectively. The average period from first symptom onset to diagnosis was 19.97±24.31 (range, 2-72) hours, with acute scrotum as the first symptom observed in 43 patients and testicular salvage in 39. Significant differences were observed between the childhood and adolescence groups regarding the period from first symptom onset to diagnosis, presence/absence of acute scrotum as the first symptom, and testicular salvage/not salvage. Additionally, strong correlations between patient age and both testicular salvage and acute scrotum as first symptom rates were observed.

Testicular torsion in childhood tends to present without typical symptoms as the acute scrotum, leading to delayed diagnosis and lower testicular salvage rates of the affected testis.