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.
D000328:Adult; D003951:Diagnostic Errors; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D005188:False Negative Reactions; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D013086:Spermatic Cord Torsion / Q000175:diagnosis*; D013733:Testicular Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis; D014463:Ultrasonography