Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40178401›Full record

ArticleAnnals of the Royal College of Surgeons of England2025

Hurdles to boys with acute scrotal pain being evaluated and treated in district general hospitals: we are not Getting It Right the First Time yet.

M Gopal, U Ibrahim, I Salphale, M Mostafizur, S Walker, M Clement, D Macafee, A Patel, R Balu, K S Eswaravaka Sudha Radha

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Annals of the Royal College of Surgeons of England, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

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.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors.

M GopalThe Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, UK.
U IbrahimThe Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, UK.
I SalphaleCounty Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust, UK.
M MostafizurCounty Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust, UK.
S WalkerSouth Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust, UK.
M ClementThe Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, UK.
D MacafeeSouth Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, UK.
A PatelSouth Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust, UK.
R BaluCounty Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust, UK.
K S Eswaravaka Sudha RadhaThe Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, UK.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionTesticular torsion is a time-critical emergency, though its incidence in the paediatric age group is relatively rare. Changes in training pathways have led to a decreasing number of adult general surgical and urological trainees being comfortable in performing an emergency scrotal exploration in children, resulting in children being transferred to regional units with the requisite expertise. This delay has been shown to increase the risk of orchidectomy. There is, therefore, an increased emphasis on the diagnostic evaluation of these children by emergency department staff.

methodsWe explore how lack of experience and availability of appropriate investigations led to transfer of children presenting to a district general hospital in the North East of England.

resultsChildren with true testicular torsion in this cohort had an unacceptably high rate of needing an orchidectomy (∼67%) compared with the reported incidence of orchidectomy with testicular torsion (∼20%).

conclusionsWe offer potential solutions to the hurdles that have to be overcome to improve this service. This will align the service to the recently published Get It Right First Time report on the management of testicular torsion in children and young adults and is within the remit of Operational Delivery Networks.

Indexed as

Acute PainScrotumSpermatic Cord TorsionAdolescentChildChild, PreschoolEnglandHospitals, DistrictHospitals, GeneralHumansInfantMaleOrchiectomyPatient TransferAcuteEvaluationHurdlesPainScrotal

Identifiers

PMID40178401
PMCPMC12400464

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

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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.