Prevalence of Testicular Microlithiasis in Males Aged 0 to 18 Years Referred for Scrotal Sonography

Background: testicular microlithiasis (tm) is a relatively uncommon and usually asymp- tomatic condition that is characterized by multiple 1-3 mm nonshadowing echogenic foci within the parenchyma of the testis. objectives: the prevalence of testicular microlithiasis was assessed retrospectively in males ranging from 0-18 years who had been referred for scrotal ultrasound. materials and methods: scrotal ultrasound examinations were performed in males aged 0-18 years old, producing 401 scans in 363 patients. the accumulated data included refer- ring specialist, indication for sonography, consultant radiologist, number of imag- es available for review of the left and right testis, associated anomalies, histological results, and testicular tumor markers. results: testicular microlithiasis was found in 21 patients (5.8%). the mean age of the patients with and without testicular microlithiasis was 11.3 and 6.7 years, respec- tively (p = 0.000). significantly more images were available for patients with testicular microlithiasis (p = 0.000), yet only 8 of the 21 cases (38.1%) were identified by the consult- ant radiologists. none of the boys with testicular microlithiasis were found to have a testicular malignancy. conclusions: our study showed a prevalence of testicular microlithiasis of 5.8% in symp- tomatic boys. the prevalence seemed to increase with age. consultant radiologists are advised to be more vigilant towards testicular microlithiasis and to scan and store a suf- ficient number of imaging planes during ultrasonography.