The Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Admission Times, Manual Detorsion
Rates and Outcomes in Testicular Torsion
Abstract
Aim: This study aims to assess the admission times, manual detorsion
rates and outcomes of the testicular torsion cases during COVID-19
pandemic. Methods: A retrospective analysis of the testicular torsion
cases was done through our hospital’s electronic archive. Patients with
were distributed into two groups as “COVID-19 era” (between 11th of
March 2020 – March 2021) and “pre-COVID-19 era” (between January 2018
and 10th of March 2020). Time between the onset of symptoms and the
moment of detorsion was calculated as the duration of ischemia. Two
groups were compared in terms of ischemia duration, manual detorsion
rates and operational outcomes. Results: No statistically significant
differences was detected between groups in terms of ischemia duration,
manual detorsion rates and surgical procedure type (all
p>0.05). During the COVID-19 pandemic, the number and
percentage of manual detorsions have increased, resulting in a numerical
decrease in orchiectomies. Conclusions: Conditions caused by COVID-19
may prompt urologists to manual detorsion more to set up safer surgical
environment. Moreover, this approach may result in a decrease in
orchiectomy rates by saving time and preserving the vascularity of the
testis. Further studies with larger samples sizes and meta-analyses may
support this concept. Keywords: testicular torsion, COVID-19, manual
detorsion, orchiectomy, emergency