Clinical Analysis of Pyocele of Tunica Vaginalis in 56 Newborns.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to explore the clinical characteristics, treatment methods, and prognosis of neonatal pyocele of tunica vaginalis and to provide a reference for the clinical treatment. METHODS: A total of 56 newborns with pyocele of tunica vaginalis were admitted to our hospital due to the scrotal emergency from January 2015 to January 2020. Our study retrospectively analyzed these 56 cases. Of the 56 cases, including 32 full-term infants and 24 premature infants, age ranged from 1 to 27 days. Initially, conservative treatment (intravenous antibiotic treatment) was applied to 42 cases, and surgery to 14 cases. Then, 7 underwent surgical exploration during the conservative treatment, and 2 cases with initial surgical treatment experienced orchiectomy because of complete necrosis. For 56 cases, the average follow-up time was 18 months. RESULTS: The clinical recovery time of cases with conservative treatment ranged from 8 to 17 days, with an average of 11.02 ± 2.31 days. The clinical recovery time of cases with surgery ranged from 6 to 15 days, with an average of 9.28 ± 2.78 days. During the follow-up, for 56 cases, except for the 2 cases with orchiectomy, the testicular position and Doppler flow both went back to normal, of the 42 cases with initial conservative treatment, 1 case experienced testicular retardation, of the 14 cases with initial surgical treatment, 2 cases experienced testicular retardation, and hydrocele of 42 cases were self-healed. CONCLUSIONS: Neonatal pyocele of tunica vaginalis is mostly secondary to intra-abdominal infection. Color Doppler ultrasound is helpful for the diagnosis. The percutaneous aspiration is a way of collecting pathogenic bacteria during the conservative treatment. If the color Doppler suggests testicular involvement, surgical exploration should be performed.

[Modified tubularized incised plate technique for hypospadias: a report of 169 cases].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the clinical application of the tubularized incised plate (TIP) in the surgical treatment of hypospadias. METHODS: This study included 169 cases of hypospadias treated by TIP surgery from January 2007 to April 2009. The patients ranged in age from 1.5 to 12 years (mean 3.68 yr). The TIP technique was modified based on that described by Snodgrass, with the urethral plate longitudinally incised and a urethral stent kept in place. The patients were hospitalized for 10 days postoperatively, and followed up for an average of 2 years, ranging from 6 months to 3 years. RESULTS: Complications developed in 18 (10.6%) of the patients, most frequently meatal stenosis (9 cases, 5.3%) and urethrocutaneous fistula (8 cases, 4.7%). CONCLUSION: The TIP technique, as a surgical method, can be applied to most hypospadias cases. The accumulation of clinical experience and skills may help raise the success rate and reduce the complications of TIP surgery.

Quantification of Mitochondrial DNA with the A1555G Mutation in Deaf Patients Using Real-Time Amplification Refractory Mutation System-Quantitative PCR.

The objective of this study was to develop a real-time amplification refractory mutation system-quantitative PCR (RT-ARMS-qPCR) assay for quantitation of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) with a mutated 1555 site and to explore the relationship between the degree of mtDNA1555 mutation and the clinical phenotype of mitochondrial deafness. An amplified mtDNA fragment containing the 1555 site was ligated into a vector to construct a plasmid DNA standard. An RT-ARMS-qPCR system was then used to measure the mtDNA copy number containing wild-type and mutant sequences in a cohort of 96 deaf patients. The variation coefficient in the cohort was 1.34%; the interassay variation coefficient was 1.96%; and the linear range was 10(2) to 10(8) copies/mul for detecting a recombinant, wild-type plasmid. The primers amplified only the intended sequences. Mutation copy number correlated with the degree of deafness in sporadic cases with heteroplasmic mutations of mtDNA A1555G (r = 0.771, P = 0.003), but not in sporadic cases with homoplasmic mutations (r = 0.001, P = 0.997). Furthermore, the copy number of homoplasmic or heteroplasmic mutations of mtDNA A1555G in familial cases correlated with degree of deafness (r = 0.341, P = 0.022 and r = 0.85, P = 0.015, respectively). The RT-ARMS-qPCR system was therefore suitable for determining the copy number of mtDNA fragments containing the A1555G mutation, and mtDNA A1555G copy number correlates with severity of hearing loss.