Inguinoscrotal pathology

Abstract

Infants, children, and adolescents with inguinoscrotal pathology comprise a significant proportion of emergency department and outpatient visits. Visits to the emergency department primarily comprise individuals presenting with scrotal pain due to testicular torsion or torsion of the testicular appendages. At such time, immediate urological consultation is sought. Outpatient visits comprise those individuals with undescended testes, hydroceles, and varicoceles. Rare, but important problems, such as pediatric testicular tumours, may also present in the office setting. Many of these outpatient visits are to primary care physicians, who should have an appreciation of the timing and need for referral. The purpose of this review is to familiarize the general urologist and primary care physician with these varied pathologies and give insight into their assessment and management. Some of these same conditions are seen in adult patients, but there are some significant differences in their management in the pediatric group. In addition, the utility of imaging studies, such as ultrasound, are discussed within each pathological entity. It is hoped that this overview will assist our general urology and primary care colleagues in patient management for diverse inguinoscrotal pathologies.