Department of Pediatric Radiology, Medical University of Lublin, Poland.
Early Hum Dev. 2012 Mar;88(3):185-9. doi: 10.1016/j.earlhumdev.2011.07.023. Epub 2011 Sep 1.
The aim of the study was quantitative and qualitative assessments of scrotal abnormalities diagnosed in boys 8 to 36 months old during ultrasound screening and estimation if these abnormalities influence testes volume.
High frequency scrotal ultrasound was performed in 1448 patients aged 8-36 months as additional exam during screening ultrasound program for children including cervical and abdominal ultrasound. The mean age of examined boys was 17 months. For further analysis the children were divided in 5 age groups.
The abnormalities in scrotal ultrasound were found in 20.1% of boys. Undescended, cryptorchid testes were found in 4.8% of patients, mobile testicle in 7.6% and hydrocele in 2.8%. The volume of undescended testes was statistically lower than volume of the descended testes in 3 youngest groups of boys (p=0.003-0.011). The volume of mobile testicles did not increase with age, while in patients with hydrocele the testicular volume decreased with age.
Scrotal screening ultrasound performed in boys up to 3 years old may deliver information about the number and type of existing pathologies as well as their influence on the testicular volume. The volume of the pathological testes was lower than the volume of the normal ones. Improper growth of testes may potentially have important clinical implication for the function of testes in the future.
本研究的目的是对 8 至 36 个月大男孩在超声筛查中诊断出的阴囊异常进行定量和定性评估，并评估这些异常是否会影响睾丸体积。
对 1448 名 8-36 个月大的儿童进行高频阴囊超声检查，作为儿童筛查超声项目（包括颈、腹部超声）的附加检查。接受检查的男孩平均年龄为 17 个月。为进一步分析，将儿童分为 5 个年龄组。
在 20.1%的男孩中发现了阴囊超声异常。未降睾丸、隐睾在 4.8%的患者中，游动睾丸在 7.6%的患者中，鞘膜积液在 2.8%的患者中。在 3 个年龄最小的男孩组中，未降睾丸的体积明显小于降睾丸的体积（p=0.003-0.011）。游动睾丸的体积并未随年龄增长而增加，而鞘膜积液患者的睾丸体积则随年龄增长而减小。
对 3 岁以下男孩进行阴囊筛查超声检查，可以提供有关现有病变数量和类型的信息，以及它们对睾丸体积的影响。病理性睾丸的体积小于正常睾丸的体积。睾丸的异常生长可能对未来睾丸的功能具有重要的临床意义。
