Where are the paediatric patients with testicular torsion during the COVID-19 pandemic?

INTRODUCTION

The Irish people were put on lockdown in mid-March 2020 due to concern of the spread of coronavirus. With these societal changes came a notable reduction in emergency department attendance. Our aim was to analyse emergency urological procedures performed during the COVID-19 era versus the previous year.

METHODS

A retrospective review of theatre logbooks was undertaken comparing numbers of emergency urological procedures performed between 1 March 2020 and 31 May 2020 (i.e. the COVID-19 era) with the corresponding 3-month period in 2019.

RESULTS

A total of 173 cases were analysed between the two time periods. Similar overall numbers of cases were performed in 2019 (n = 90) and 2020 (n = 83). In particular, similar patient case numbers are also noted in both scrotal explorations (13 vs 9) and ureteric stone surgeries (69 vs 70). However, orchidectomies for testicular cancers were reduced by 63% (3/8). On further analysis of the scrotal exploration group, only 3 were performed in the period after lockdown regulations were instated.

CONCLUSION

Whilst patients with ureteric colic continue to present, those with acute testis pain requiring exploration attended less frequently, raising the possibility of undiagnosed testicular torsion in the community.