[Scrotal pain and Henoch-Schönlein purpura].

An acute scrotum is a potential urologic emergency and requires urgent evaluation in order to rule out conditions that need immediate surgical management. The most important condition to rule out is torsion of the testis. In cases of less emergency, a wide variety of differentials may be considered. Scrotal pain or swelling may occur in 10 to 15% of boys with Henoch-Schönlein purpura. We present the case of a 19-year-old boy who had intermittent scrotal pain of two weeks' duration with acute exacerbation prior to admission. The clinical examination gave no specific results. A regular and Doppler sonographic scan showed no evidence of testicular affection. The patient was observed in hospital. Two years earlier he had present with abdominal cramps, rectal bleeding, duodenitis, proteinuria and a purpuric rash, suggestive of Henoch-Schönlein purpura; IgA-nephritis was proven after a renal biopsy. As all other differentials had been ruled out, we concluded that Henoch-Schönlein syndrome was the cause of the recurrent scrotal pain in our patient.