Scrotal emergencies

A common presentation to GPs is by patients with symptoms of scrotal pain, swelling and erythema. Some of these conditions have a benign cause, and therefore, can be managed in primary care. Other causes require urgent referral to secondary services for further investigation and management. The aim of this article is to enable GPs to be able to identify scrotal emergencies based on clinical presentation and examination findings. This will allow appropriate and timely referrals to be made, which will optimise patient care and subsequent outcomes. We discuss common presentations and their management based on suspected diagnosis.