Establishing Normative Mean Sonographic Testicular Volumes in Adult Males: A Study in North-Central Nigeria

Background: Precise measurement of testicular volume is indispensable in the diagnostic and therapeutic management of hypogonadism, infertility, and testicular pathologies. Serial measurements of testicular volume facilitate the assessment of treatment efficacy and disease progression. Sonography is the preferred method for assessing testicular volume, but normative values vary across studies. Objective: To establish normative mean sonographic testicular volumes in healthy adult males in our environment and provide age-specific reference ranges for testicular volume. Methods: A retrospective review of 352 patient records was conducted, spanning January 2014 to December 2023. Adult patients with normal scrotal ultrasound were included, provided they had comprehensive documentation. We collected and analyzed demographic and imaging data using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 23. Descriptive statistics (frequencies, means ± SD) were calculated. Results are presented in tabular format. Statistical significance was determined at p < 0.05, with a 95% confidence interval. Results: The mean age of the participants is 42.06 ± 17.04 years. The mean testicular volumes across different age groups revealed values of 17.22 ± 4.29 ml, 19.19 ± 4.53 ml, and 17.93 ± 4.41 ml for the 18-27years, 28-37years, and 38–47years age groups, respectively. However, a Pearson correlation analysis yielded a weak positive linear relationship (r = 0.046) between age and mean testicular volume, which was not statistical significance (p = 0.389). Notably, the overall mean testicular volume (MTV) was found to be 18.30 ± 4.55 ml. Furthermore, a comparative analysis of testicular volumes between the right and left testes revealed mean values of 18.91 ± 5.07 ml and 17.57 ± 4.75 ml respectively. A strong positive linear correlation (r = 0.726) was observed between the right and left testicular volumes, which was statistically significant (p < 0.001). Conclusion: This study found the mean testicular volume of 18.30 ± 4.55ml in adult males which falls within the normal range reported in the body of existing literature, and observed the symmetry between the right and left testicular volumes thus, providing useful reference values for clinicians.