Presentations of the Acute Scrotum During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Experiences of a Non-urological Centre

Introduction: Testicular torsion is a time-sensitive surgical emergency. Assessment of the acute scrotum warrants rapid surgical review and low threshold for surgical intervention. Materials and methods: A retrospective cohort study was undertaken for a three-month period during the first wave of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic and the corresponding period in 2019. Data were collected for all scrotal explorations undertaken at our non-urological centre during this time. Results: Sixteen scrotal explorations were performed from April to June 2019, one had testicular torsion (6.25%). Forty-one explorations were performed from April to June 2020, nine had testicular torsion (21.95%). The most common diagnosis was epididymitis or epididymo-orchitis in 2019 and 2020 (27% and 37.5%, respectively). Sixty-two percent of patients presented within 12 hours in 2019 compared to only 37% during the first wave of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Conclusion: This study found an increase in the number of patients presenting with acute scrotal pain triggering surgical intervention and the number of patients with testicular torsion. This is likely to reflect a decrease in patients able to access primary care assessment but may also be related to COVID-19. There was a marked delay in the presentation which has significant implications for testicular viability.