ACUTE SCROTAL PAIN
Several surgical conditions in children demand the cessation
of all other activities until the condition has been thoroughly investigated.
The sudden onset of scrotal pain is one of those. Unless the youngster is
already in a physician’s office, it is best not to take the extra time having
him come in for an examination, but rather to advise him to head immediately to
the Emergency Department where both clinical and ultrasonographic
examinations are readily available.
Several entities may cause an acute onset of scrotal pain, but the most serious possibility on the list of differential diagnoses always dictates the urgency. In this case, it is testicular torsion, a condition requiring immediate intervention if the testicle is to be saved. Other conditions causing acute scrotal pain include epidiymitis and torsion of the appendix testis, neither of which is a surgical emergency.