Scrotal Pain

History of present illness should determine location (unilateral or bilateral), onset (acute or subacute), and duration of pain. Important associated symptoms include fever, dysuria, penile discharge, and presence of scrotal mass. Patients should be asked about preceding events, including injury, straining or lifting, and sexual contact.

Review of systems should seek symptoms of causative disorders, including purpuric rash, abdominal pain, and arthralgias (immunoglobulin A–associated vasculitis [Henoch-Schönlein purpura]); intermittent scrotal masses, groin swelling, or both (inguinal hernia); fever and parotid gland swelling (mumps orchitis); and flank pain or hematuria (renal calculus).

Past medical history should identify known disorders that may cause referred pain, including hernias, abdominal aortic aneurysm, renal calculi, and risk factors for serious disorders, including diabetes and peripheral vascular disease (Fournier gangrene).

Physical examination begins with a review of vital signs and assessment of the severity of pain. Examination focuses on the abdomen, inguinal region, and genitals.

The abdomen is examined for tenderness and masses (including bladder distention). Flanks are percussed for costovertebral angle tenderness.

Inguinal and genital examination should be done with the patient standing. Inguinal area is inspected and palpated for adenopathy, swelling, or erythema. Examination of the penis should note ulcerations, urethral discharge, and piercings and tattoos (sources of bacterial infections). Scrotal examination should note asymmetry, swelling, erythema or discoloration, and positioning of the testes (horizontal vs vertical, high vs low). Cremasteric reflex should be tested bilaterally. The testes, epididymides, and spermatic cords should be palpated for swelling and tenderness. If swelling is present, the area should be transilluminated to help determine whether the swelling is cystic or solid.

The following findings are of particular concern:

• Sudden onset of pain; exquisite tenderness; and a high-riding, horizontally displaced testis (testicular torsion)

• Inguinal or scrotal nonreducible mass with severe pain, vomiting, and constipation (incarcerated hernia)

• Scrotal or perineal erythema, necrotic or blistered skin lesions, and toxic appearance (Fournier gangrene)

• Sudden onset of pain, hypotension, weak pulse, pallor, dizziness, and confusion (ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm)

The focus is to distinguish causes that require immediate treatment from others. Clinical findings provide important clues (see table Some Causes of Scrotal Pain).

Aortic catastrophes and Fournier gangrene occur primarily in patients aged > 50 years; the other conditions that require immediate treatment can occur at any age. However, testicular torsion is most common in neonates and postpubertal boys, torsion of the testicular appendage occurs most commonly in prepubertal boys (7 to 14 years), and epididymitis is most common in adolescents and adults.

Severe, sudden onset of pain suggests testicular torsion or renal calculus. Pain from epididymitis, incarcerated hernia, or appendicitis is of more gradual onset. Patients with torsion of the testicular appendage present with moderate pain that develops over a few days; pain is localized to the upper pole. Bilateral pain suggests infection (eg, orchitis, particularly if accompanied by fever and viral symptoms) or a referred cause. Flank pain that radiates to the scrotum suggests renal calculus or, in men aged > 55 years, abdominal aortic aneurysm.

Normal findings on scrotal and perineal examination suggest referred pain. Attention must then be directed to extrascrotal disorders, particularly appendicitis, renal calculi, and, in men > 55, abdominal aortic aneurysm.

Abnormal scrotal and perineal examination findings often suggest a cause. Sometimes, early in epididymitis, tenderness and induration may be localized to the epididymis; early in torsion, the testis may be clearly high-riding, with a horizontal lie and the epididymis not particularly tender. However, frequently the testis and epididymis are both swollen and tender, there is scrotal edema, and it is not possible to differentiate epididymitis from torsion by palpation. However, the cremasteric reflex is absent in torsion, as are findings of a sexually transmitted infection (STI—eg, purulent urethral discharge); the presence of both of these findings makes epididymitis quite likely.

Sometimes, a scrotal mass caused by a hernia may be palpable in the inguinal canal; in other cases, hernia can be difficult to distinguish from testicular swelling.

Painful erythema of the scrotum with no tenderness of the testes or epididymides should raise suspicion of infection, either cellulitis or early Fournier gangrene.

A vasculitic rash, abdominal pain, and arthralgias are consistent with a systemic vasculitis syndrome such as immunoglobulin A–associated vasculitis or polyarteritis nodosa.

Testing is typically done.

• Urinalysis and culture (all patients)

• STI testing (all patients with positive urinalysis, discharge, or dysuria)

• Color Doppler ultrasonography to rule out torsion (no clear-cut alternate cause)

• Other testing as suggested by findings (see table Some Causes of Scrotal Pain)

Urinalysis and culture are always required. Findings of urinary tract infection (UTI—eg, pyuria, bacteriuria) suggest epididymitis. Patients with findings that suggest UTI and patients with urethral discharge or dysuria should be tested for STIs as well as other bacterial causes of UTI.

Timely diagnosis of testicular torsion is critical. If findings are highly suggestive of torsion, immediate surgical exploration is done in preference to testing. If findings are equivocal and there is no clear alternate cause of acute scrotal pain, color Doppler ultrasonography is done. If Doppler ultrasonography is not available, radionuclide scanning may be used but is less sensitive and specific.