GuidelineEuropean radiology2020
Ultrasound evaluation of varicoceles: guidelines and recommendations of the European Society of Urogenital Radiology Scrotal and Penile Imaging Working Group (ESUR-SPIWG) for detection, classification, and grading.
Guideline in European radiology, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 47 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
47 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- The role of the radiologist in the evaluation of male infertility: recommendations of the European Society of Urogenital Radiology-Scrotal and Penile Imaging Working Group (ESUR-SPIWG) for scrotal imaging.European radiology · 2025Guideline
- Ultrasound evaluation of varicoceles: systematic literature review and rationale of the ESUR-SPIWG Guidelines and Recommendations.Journal of ultrasound · 2020Pooled it
- Efficacy of transversalis fascia plane block as a novel ındication for varicocelectomy surgery: prospective randomized controlled study.BMC anesthesiology · 2023Trial
- [Varicocele: comparison of minimally invasive treatment options : Endovascular embolization, microsurgery, and patient-tailored treatment selection].Radiologie (Heidelberg, Germany) · 2026Review
- Preoperative Varicocele Severity and Sperm Concentration Are Associated with Absence of Internal Spermatic Vein Reflux in Patients Undergoing Varicocele Embolization: Results from A Cross-Sectional Study.The world journal of men's health · 2026Article
- Is Varicocele Truly Unilateral? Contralateral Involvement and Bilateral Testicular Effects in Male Infertility: A Narrative Review.Journal of personalized medicine · 2026Review
- Varicocelectomy versus antioxidants in infertile men with isolated teratozoospermia: A randomized controlled trial.Clinical and experimental reproductive medicine · 2026Article
- Clinical value of shear wave elastography (SWE) combined with superb microvascular imaging (SMI) for the evaluation of semen abnormalities.American journal of translational research · 2026Article
- Numerical simulation of gonadal vein hemodynamics in nutcracker syndrome-associated varicocele: effects of Valsalva maneuver and clinical implications.Frontiers in bioengineering and biotechnology · 2026Article
- Correlation analysis of pituitary morphometry in boys with idiopathic central precocious puberty or early puberty: implications for diagnosis.Translational pediatrics · 2025Article
- Article
- Testicular Stiffness and Volume in Varicocele Patients: A Prospective Comparative Shear Wave Elastography Study.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Recent Trends in the Management of Varicocele.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Review
- Risk factors associated with varicocele: a narrative review.Translational andrology and urology · 2025Review
- From imaging techniques to laboratory tests: a multimodal stratification for varicocele-associated decreased semen quality.Basic and clinical andrology · 2025Review
- High-frequency ultrasound shear wave dispersion imaging for male infertility: a pilot study.Quantitative imaging in medicine and surgery · 2025Article
- Development and Validation of an Ultrasound Imaging Algorithm for Structured Reporting in Testicular Pathology.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Challenging cases of adherent periarterial vein during subinguinal Fisch technique and subinguinal micro-varicocelecotmy and sclerotherapy: a prospective comparative study.Basic and clinical andrology · 2025Article
- A new approach for hemodynamics of varicoceles: blood flow patterns based on contrast-enhanced ultrasound.Basic and clinical andrology · 2025Article
- Correlation study and full management of metabolic syndrome and sperm DNA fragmentation index, a regional multicentre prospective long term follow-up study from Anhui, China.Frontiers in cell and developmental biology · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
21 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Varicoceles are relatively common particularly in asymptomatic men and are even more prevalent in subfertile men, representing the most common potentially correctable cause of male infertility. Ultrasound (US) is the imaging modality of choice for varicocele evaluation, but there is no widely accepted consensus on examination technique, diagnostic criteria, or classification. In view of this uncertainty, the guideline writing group (WG) of the European Society of Urogenital Radiology (ESUR) Scrotal and Penile Imaging Working Group (ESUR-SPIWG) undertook a literature review and assessment of the quality of relevant evidence. The group then produced evidence-based recommendations for varicocele US examination, interpretation, and classification by consensus agreement. The results are presented in the form of 15 clinical questions with a brief summary of the relevant evidence and the authorised recommendations from the SPIWG. This paper provides a short summary of the evidence evaluation and the complete recommendations.Key Points• Varicocele is a common clinical problem; it is highly prevalent amongst subfertile men and the most common potentially correctable cause of male infertility. • Ultrasound is the imaging modality of choice for varicocele assessment, but there is no generally agreed consensus on the US examination technique or the criteria that should be used for diagnosis, grading, and classification. • This paper summarises the recommendations of the ESUR-SPIWG for standardising the US assessment of varicoceles. This includes examination technique, image interpretation, classification, and reporting.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.