Clinical Practice and Cases in Emergency Medicine (Jul 2017)

Testicular Rupture: A Tough Nut to Crack

  • Tyler L. Holliday,
  • Kristine S. Robinson,
  • Nicole Dorinzi,
  • Andrew W. Vucelik,
  • Erin L. Setzer,
  • Debra L. Williams,
  • Melinda J. Sharon,
  • Joseph J. Minardi

DOI
https://doi.org/10.5811/cpcem.2017.3.33348
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 1, no. 3

Abstract

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Blunt scrotal injury represents a diagnostic dilemma for emergency physicians (EP). Consequently, point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) has emerged as a tool for early investigation of the acute scrotum in the emergency department. We describe a case where an EP used scrotal POCUS to immediately visualize the loss of testicular contour and underlying heterogeneous parenchyma to rapidly make the diagnosis of testicular rupture in a young male presenting with scrotal trauma. The use of POCUS in this case expedited therapy, likely improving the patient’s outcome. To our knowledge, this is the first detailed description of testicular rupture diagnosed with POCUS by an EP