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Acute scrotal pain in boys at a single paediatric centre with a questionnaire to assess patient awareness of the acute scrotum

Paediatric surgeons commonly evaluate acute scrotal pain. Previous peer review articles have suggested that boys should be educated to ensure early medical assessment thereby avoiding potential testicular loss. In this study we sought to ascertain a contemporary view of educational awareness of testicular pain in boys presenting to our service. A prospective 11 month study of boys attending our unit with acute scrotal pain was undertaken. Additionally, 30 consecutive patients completed a standardised questionnaire to ascertain their educational awareness of testicular pain. A total of 84 boys were referred to our service for evaluation of acute scrotal pain; 36 required operative interventions. Nine patients (25%) had testicular torsion; 19 patients (52.8%) had torted appendages; 6 patients (16.7%) had epididymitis and 2 patients (5.5%) had alternative diagnoses. There was one case of testicular loss in the older age group. Most boys were unaware of testicular problems but felt an education regarding scrotal problems would be useful. Our study shows that an unawareness of testicular pain exists in both children and their carers. We envisage that including basic educational aspects into the school curriculum may help avoid possible testicular loss in the future.