The diagnostic effectiveness of infrared scrotal thermography(IST) was compared with that of conventional scrotography among 59 patients with left-sided varcocele of Grade I or higher who visited the Yongdong Severance Hospital. The mean age of
the
patients was 31 years, and the grades of varicocele according to physical examination were I in 12, II in 28, and III in 19 patients. The mean scrotal temperature(℃)measured by IST was 28.9 on the left and 27.7 on the right , a difference of
1.2(control values in 29 normal men: 27.5, 27.7, and 0.2, respectively). The difference in temperature and the grade of varicocele were significantly correlated(P=0.001). The relations between the difference in temperature and the rate of
positive
scrotography were:
Patients in Group 3 showed a significantly higher positive IST rate than those in Groups 1 and 2. Thus, the results of IST were interpreted as positive if the difference in temperature was more than 1.0 ℃. The positive rate for IST was 68% and
that for
scrotography was 66%. The concordance between IST and scrotography was 0.8. the mean scrotal temperatures of the 32 patients who had positive results in both tests were, left, 29.5 and right, 27.8(difference 1.7). The positive rates for each
grade
of
varicocele by IST or scrotography were 50% for Grade I, 82% for Grade II, and 95% for Grade III, With a mean of 80%. Infrared scrotal thermography is a simple, less invasive technique with higher sensitivity than scortography for the diagnosis of
varicocele. It is not entirely accurate for small lesions (low-grade varicocele). In such cases, the diagnosis and treatment selection must be correlated with the findings of semen analysis and the size of the scrotum.
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