Ovarian torsion: determining the presenting features and where the delays occur

Delayed ovarian torsion management can lead to unnecessary oophorectomy and halving of a woman's fertility potential.

To improve recognition and efficiency of ovarian torsion management at Waitematā by examining common presenting symptoms/signs and identifying areas of treatment delay.

An audit of all ovarian torsion cases at Waitematā over 24 months (01/05/2022-30/04/2024).

Forty-five women had ovarian torsion, and 42 were premenopausal. Common presenting features included abdominal pain (100%), ovarian cysts (97.8%), nausea (82%) and vomiting (51%). Peritonism was rare (13.3%). Oophorectomy was performed in 26 cases (57.8%). Rates of oophorectomy increased with increasing time from symptom onset until presentation. The time from presentation until surgery (average of 28 hours) was longer than other tertiary centres, with delays largely arising from triage to ultrasound, and then while awaiting access to theatre.

Improving torsion recognition and expediting both imaging and surgery should reduce oophorectomy rates. Women presenting with symptomatic ovarian cysts without torsion should be adequately counselled on the risk of future torsion events and encouraged to seek acute medical attention for changes in symptoms. Additionally, more study is needed to determine if relying on computed tomography (CT) findings alone (e.g., presence of ovarian cysts more than 5cm) in the presence of symptoms suggestive of ovarian torsion can reduce time to diagnosis and improve surgical outcomes, compared to the commonly used CT followed by ultrasound.