Testicular microlithiasis in patients with Down syndrome.
OBJECTIVE
Testicular microlithiasis (TM) occurs with benign as well as with pathological conditions, such as testicular cancer. Since Down syndrome (DS) may be associated with increased frequency of testicular cancer, we determined the prevalence of TM in DS in patients from a DS clinic and evaluated the prevalence by age group.


METHODS
We compared results of research scrotal ultrasounds obtained from 1998 to 2001 from 92 Latino patients with DS (ages newborn to 29.7 years) and clinical ultrasounds obtained from 1998 to 2004 from 200 Latino patients without DS (ages newborn to 18.3 years). We also reviewed the medical records.


RESULTS
The prevalence of TM in DS was 29%, significantly higher than the 7% found in patients without DS (P < .0001). Twenty of the 27 patients with DS and TM had no testicular pathology clinically or by history. The TM prevalence in the entire group of patients with and without DS increased with advancing age.


CONCLUSIONS
We found a significantly increased prevalence of TM in DS. The clinical significance of TM needs to be investigated further.
Vachon
Linda
L
Department of Radiology, Los Angeles County + University of Southern California Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA 90033, USA. vachon@usc.edu
Fareau
Gerard E
GE
Wilson
Miriam G
MG
Chan
Linda S
LS
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001706:Biopsy; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004314:Down Syndrome / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D020347:Lithiasis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012611:Scrotum / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D012671:Seminiferous Tubules / Q000473:pathology; D013733:Testicular Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D014463:Ultrasonography