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The impact of sonography on the diagnosis of scrotal disorders
R A Older1, R A Omary, L R Watson
1Department of Urology, University of Virginia Health Sciences Center, Charlottesville, USA.
Purpose:
We assessed the impact of ultrasound on the referring urologist diagnosis of scrotal disorders.
Materials And Methods:
University urologists (6 attending and 3 resident physicians) in a clinic setting completed questionnaires before and after on 35 patients with scrotal symptoms. The physicians were requested to estimate the probability (0 to 100%) of their most likely diagnosis before and after receiving the sonographic information. We calculated the mean change in diagnostic percentage confidence and also the proportion of patients whose pre-sonographic diagnosis was changed.
Results:
Scrotal ultrasound changed the initial diagnosis in 11 of 35 patients (32%, 95% confidence interval 19 to 49). The mean percentage gain in diagnostic certainty from ultrasound was 29% (95% confidence interval 20 to 39, p < 0.001).
Conclusions:
Scrotal ultrasound has considerable impact on referring urologist diagnosis of scrotal abnormalities.