Clinical study of the effectiveness of the "water of the 3 sulfates" on balanitis and balanoposthitis.

OBJECTIVES: Despite scientific literature mentions the application of "water of the 3 sulfates" (copper sulphate, zinc sulphate and alum) as a treatment for acute balanitis and balanoposthitis, no clinical trials evaluating its efficacy have been found. In our study we evaluate the efficacy of this solution in acute balanitis and balanoposthitis. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A double-blind randomized study was designed to compare the efficacy of "water of the 3 sulfates" (intervention) with saline solution (control) in 50 patients (30 patients and 20 patients, respectively) who suffer from acute balanitis or balanoposthitis. Exudate, erythema, oedema, burning, and itching were the clinical parameters assessed. RESULTS: for all clinical parameters assessed, the outcomes obtained with "water of the 3 sulfates" are higher than control, although significant differences only have been found for exudate. CONCLUSIONS: in our study, the "water of the 3 sulfates" is significantly more effective than saline solution for removing exudates in acute balanitis and balanoposthitis. Tolerability was excellent in both treatments.

Value of percent free prostate-specific antigen for the prediction of pathological stage in men with clinically localized prostate cancer.

PURPOSE: To analyze if the percentage of free prostate-specific antigen (PSA) can provide additional information to the combination of local clinical stage, serum PSA and Gleason score in the prediction of final stage and pathological features of prostate cancer. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A group of 480 men with clinically localized prostate cancer underwent lymphadenectomy and radical prostatectomy. Total and free PSA were measured in preoperative serum. Clinical stage was T1 in 70.4% of patients and T2 in 29.6%. The biopsy Gleason score ranged between 2 and 4 in 5.6%, between 5 and 7 in 78.4%, and was higher than 7 in 16%. Total serum PSA was below 4.1 ng/mL in 4.3%, between 4.1 and 10 ng/mL in 66.4%, between 10.1 and 20 ng/mL in 22.5%, and higher than 20 in 6.7% of patients. The tumor was organ-confined in 49.8% and specimen-confined in 64.2%, and its pathological features were favorable in 35%. RESULTS: Multiple logistic regression analysis demonstrated that percent free PSA has independent predictive value for pathological stage only in the subset of patients with cT1 tumors and serum PSA between 4.1 and 10 ng/mL. In this group the probability of organ-confined cancer was 68.3% if the percent free PSA was above 15 and 56.3% if it was lower (p<0.001). The probability of specimen-confined disease was 86.6% and 71.3%, respectively (p<0.007), and the probability of favorable pathology was 59.8% and 39.6%, respectively (p<0.002). We also found higher rates of organ- and specimen-confined tumors and favorable pathology for every Gleason score when the percent free PSA was higher than 15. CONCLUSIONS: Percent free PSA seems to provide additional information to the combination of clinical stage and Gleason score for the prediction of pathological features only in patients with clinical stage T1c and serum PSA between 4.1 and 10 ng/mL.