Objective: This study aimed to explore the clinical characteristics, treatment methods, and prognosis of neonatal pyocele of tunica vaginalis and to provide a reference for the clinical treatment.
Methods: A total of 56 newborns with pyocele of tunica vaginalis were admitted to our hospital due to the scrotal emergency from January 2015 to January 2020. Our study retrospectively analyzed these 56 cases. Of the 56 cases, including 32 full-term infants and 24 premature infants, age ranged from 1 to 27 days. Initially, conservative treatment (intravenous antibiotic treatment) was applied to 42 cases, and surgery to 14 cases. Then, 7 underwent surgical exploration during the conservative treatment, and 2 cases with initial surgical treatment experienced orchiectomy because of complete necrosis. For 56 cases, the average follow-up time was 18 months.
Results: The clinical recovery time of cases with conservative treatment ranged from 8 to 17 days, with an average of 11.02 ± 2.31 days. The clinical recovery time of cases with surgery ranged from 6 to 15 days, with an average of 9.28 ± 2.78 days. During the follow-up, for 56 cases, except for the 2 cases with orchiectomy, the testicular position and Doppler flow both went back to normal, of the 42 cases with initial conservative treatment, 1 case experienced testicular retardation, of the 14 cases with initial surgical treatment, 2 cases experienced testicular retardation, and hydrocele of 42 cases were self-healed.
Conclusions: Neonatal pyocele of tunica vaginalis is mostly secondary to intra-abdominal infection. Color Doppler ultrasound is helpful for the diagnosis. The percutaneous aspiration is a way of collecting pathogenic bacteria during the conservative treatment. If the color Doppler suggests testicular involvement, surgical exploration should be performed.
Keywords: Conservative treatment; Pediatrics; Pyoceles; Surgery; Tunica vaginalis.
© 2021 S. Karger AG, Basel.