Testicular blood flow in boys as assessed at color Doppler and power Doppler sonography.

PURPOSE: To investigate at which age testicular blood flow can be demonstrated consistently by color Doppler sonography and power Doppler sonography.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this prospective study, 172 normal testes of 86 boys (age range, 4 days to 15 years) were examined with gray-scale ultrasound, color Doppler sonography, and power Doppler sonography. Presence of supratesticular and capsular vessels was determined, testicular volumes were assessed, and intratesticular vessels were quantified by using a semiquantitative score.

RESULTS: Supratesticular and capsular vessels were always detectable. Demonstration of intratesticular vessels was inconsistent until 8 years of age at power Doppler sonography and until 12 years of age at color Doppler sonography. Power Doppler sonography depicted more vessels than did color Doppler sonography in 37 (22%) testes (P = .001), and it depicted vessels in 13 (25%) of 51 testes in which color Doppler sonography could not (P = .0002). Correlation between the number of visible intratesticular vessels was slightly closer with age than with testicular volume (r = .59, r = .55 for color Doppler sonography and power Doppler sonography, respectively).

CONCLUSION: Intratesticular blood flow can be detected more sensitively and more consistently from a younger age on with power Doppler sonography than with color Doppler sonography.