Testicular scanning: evaluating the acute scrotum in the clinical setting.

In a retrospective study of patients with acute scrotal pain presenting to the hospitals of Southern Illinois University School of Medicine from January 1982 until September 1987, determination was made of the appropriate use of testicular scan for definitive diagnosis. Though the testicular scan is a highly sensitive and specific examination in the identification of testicular torsion, we believe its routine use in clinical practice is limited. Appropriate utilization of the examination requires its use in high-risk groups with equivocal physical findings or in patients with unusual presentations of age, anatomy, or neurologic deficit. The scan if used for routine screening of the acute scrotum would result in needless delays and unjustifiable expense when it is mandatory that the treatment be immediate surgical exploration.