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Objective:The indications of routine skull X-rays after mild head trauma are still in discussion, and the clinical management of a child with a skull fracture remains controversial. The aim of our retrospective study was to evaluate our diagnostic and clinical management of children with skull fractures following minor head trauma.Methods:We worked up the medical history of all consecutive patients with a skull fracture treated in our hospital from January 2009 to October 2014 and investigated all skull X-rays in our hospital during this period.Results:In 5217 skull radiographies, 66 skull fractures (1.3%) were detected. The mean age of all our patients was 5.9 years (median age: 4.0 years); the mean age of patients with a diagnosed skull fracture was 2.3 years (median age: 0.8 years). A total of 1658 children (32%) were <2 years old. A typical boggy swelling was present in 61% of all skull fractures. The majority of injuries were caused by falls (77%). Nine patients (14%) required a computed tomography (CT) scan during their hospital stay due to neurological symptoms, and four patients had a brain magnetic resonance imaging. Nine patients (14%) showed an intracranial hemorrhage (ICH; mean age: 7.3 years); one patient had a neurosurgery because of a depressed skull fracture. Nine patients (14%) were observed at our pediatric intensive care unit for a mean time of 2.9 days. The mean hospital stay was 4.2 days.Conclusions:Our findings support previous evidence against the routine use of skull X-rays for evaluation of children with minor head injury. The rate of diagnosed skull fractures in radiographs following minor head trauma is low, and additional CT scans are not indicated in asymptomatic patient with a linear skull fracture. All detected ICHs could be treated conservatively. Children under the age of 2 years have the highest risk of skull fractures after minor head trauma, but do not have a higher incidence of intracranial bleeding. Neuroobservation without initial CT scans is safe in infants and children following minor head trauma and CT scans should be reserved for patients with neurological symptoms.

Based on this series of patients, human chorionic gonadotropin production is not an unfavorable prognostic factor in pure seminoma. Even in the subgroups with high or very high human chorionic gonadotropin levels (who had a higher proportion of advanced stages), the prognosis remained excellent. In Stage I and IIA seminoma with abnormal human chorionic gonadotropin levels, recurrence rate after post-operative radiotherapy alone is extremely low.

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Ultrasonography (US) has become the method of choice for imaging in diseases affecting the scrotum. With the development of high resolution transducers using colour Doppler and pulsed Doppler, it is now possible to make accurate diagnoses. Sonography is able to distinguish immediately between intra- and extratesticular lesions. It is also possible to differentiate between cystic and solid tumours. Solid testicular tumours may be detected without difficulty and thus the patient's dignity is practically assured (98 % of solid testicular tumours are malignant). In cases of acute diseases of the scrotum, sonography nearly always permits a differentiation between torsion and inflammation, thus avoiding the risk of unnecessary operations. The review covers the introduction, anatomy, the scanning protocol for scrotal ultrasound and pathological changes. Testicular tumours and torsion are discussed in detail. Variations from the norm and pitfalls are outlined so as to help avoid making misdiagnoses.