Situation of Pediatric Patients with Testicular Torsion in Times of COVID-19

Marta Komarowska; Małgorzata Kowalska; Kamil Grubczak; Alicja Pawelczyk; Adam Hermanowicz; Wojciech Debek; Ewa Matuszczak

doi:10.1155/2023/9960452

Situation of Pediatric Patients with Testicular Torsion in Times of COVID-19

Emerg Med Int. 2023 May 8:2023:9960452. doi: 10.1155/2023/9960452. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Marta Komarowska¹, Małgorzata Kowalska¹, Kamil Grubczak², Alicja Pawelczyk¹, Adam Hermanowicz¹, Wojciech Debek¹, Ewa Matuszczak¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Pediatric Surgery and Urology, Medical University of Bialystok, Bialystok, Poland.
² Department of Regenerative Medicine and Immune Regulation, Medical University of Bialystok, Bialystok, Poland.

Abstract

To assess whether the COVID-19 pandemic had an influence on presentation of testicular torsion and/or increase in the frequency of orchiectomy. Patients and Methods. This retrospective study included boys under 18 years of age with testicular torsion divided in two groups: pre-COVID operated in 2019 vs. COVID-19 group from 2020. We compared demographic data as well as local and general symptoms. We analyzed additional tests, intraoperative findings, length of operation and hospitalization, and followup. Results. We analyzed the data collected from 44 patients (24 boys from first group vs. 20 boys from second group). The median age was 13.4 years vs. 14.5 years in the latter. The median time of symptoms duration was 6.5 hours and 8.5 hours, respectively. The main manifestation was testicular pain without additional signs. The results of the laboratory tests did not reflect local advancement. In the 2019 group, Doppler ultrasound showed absent blood flow in the affected testicle in 62% vs. 80% in 2020. The mean time from admission to surgery was virtually identical: 75 minutes in 2019 vs. 76 minutes in 2020. The mean duration of scrotal revision was similar in both groups. There was only one significant difference: the degree of twisting. In 2019, the mean was 360° vs. 540° in 2020. Incidence of orchiectomy also did not significantly vary between the analyzed time periods, with 21% during the pandemic and 35% during the pre-COVID-19 period. Conclusion. We did not observe an increase in the number of testicular torsion cases during the COVID-19 pandemic. Most importantly, the rates of orchiectomy did not significantly differ between the patients with testicular torsion presenting during the COVID-19 outbreak.