Doppler ultrasound failure in testicular torsion

Eighty adult patients with acute scrotal pain were evaluated during a one-year period using the Doppler ultrasonic stethoscope. Among the 16 patients with spermatic cord torsion, the Doppler examination was correct in seven (44%), indeterminate in four (25%), and falsely negative in five (31%), despite use of the funicular compression test. The mean duration of torsion was substantially different in the correct (15 hours), indeterminate (70 hours), and false-negative (50 hours) groups, although the correlation between Doppler result and torsion duration was not significant (P = .14). The large number of false-negative examinations makes the Doppler unsuitable for excluding the diagnosis of testicular torsion.