Risk factors for urosepsis following percutaneous nephrolithotomy: role of 1 week of nitrofurantoin in reducing the risk of urosepsis.

The purpose of this study was to analyze the various risk factors for urosepsis following percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PNL) and to study the role of 1-week nitrofurantoin before PNL in reducing the risk of urosepsis. All patients undergoing PNL from April 2007 to November 2008 were prospectively included and grouped into four cohorts according to the following inclusion criteria: group A: stones ≤ 2.5 cm, no hydronephrosis, sterile urine; group B: diabetes mellitus, serum creatinine > 2 mg/dl, positive urine culture, stag horn stones, presence of nephrostomy or simultaneous bilateral PNL; group C: stones ≥ 2.5 cm and/or hydronephrosis, sterile urine; group D: similar to group C, but received nitrofurantoin 100 mg bid for 7 days before operation. Preoperative urine culture, intraoperative renal pelvic urine culture and stone cultures were obtained. Fever > 380°C and leukocyte counts > 12,000 were considered as systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS). Endotoxemia was assessed in serum samples. A total of 205 patients were included in the study and grouped into four cohorts as group A (n = 50), group B (n = 54), group C (n = 53) and group D (n = 48). Overall 23% patients had positive renal pelvic urine and/or stone culture, 25% had endotoxemia and 34% developed SIRS. Female gender, chronic renal failure, anemia, hydronephrosis, stones larger than 2.5 cm and prolonged surgery were found to be risk factors associated with urosepsis. Nitrofurantoin prophylaxis resulted in decreased culture positivity (30.2 vs. 8.3%, odds ratio 0.36, p = 0.087), endotoxemia (41.9 vs. 17.5%, odds ratio 0.22, p = 0.001) and SIRS (49 vs. 19%, odds ratio 0.31, p = 0.01). In conclusion, female gender, chronic renal failure, anemia, hydronephrosis, stones larger than 2.5 cm and prolonged surgery were risk factors for urosepsis. Nitrofurantoin is beneficial in the prevention of endotoxemia and urosepsis especially in patients with larger stones and hydronephrosis.

Use of autogenous internal iliac artery for bridging the external iliac artery after excision of Aspergillus mycotic aneurysm in renal transplant recipients.

Repair of vascular defects in the presence of infection remains a challenging task in immunocompromised patients. We report two patients with postrenal transplant Aspergillus mycotic aneurysms of the allograft renal artery involving the external iliac artery which were excised along with the allograft. The defect in the external iliac artery was repaired successfully with interposition of autogenous internal iliac artery graft. Use of an internal iliac artery graft in such settings has been rarely reported in English literature. Autogenous internal iliac artery grafts provide a useful method to bridge the vascular defects created by radical debridement in the presence of fungal infections.

Improvement in Blood Supply After "Heparin-Dextran" Therapy in Patients of Buerger's Disease with Critical Limb Ischemia.

Alleviating the agonizing pain of critical limb ischemia (CLI) in patients of Buerger's disease (BD) has been challenging, due to lack of definitive treatment; "Heparin-Dextran" infusion has been tried in this study. Assessment of clinical improvement and vascular changes following therapy. Patients with CLI admitted to emergency surgical ward were studied prospectively. BD was diagnosed by Shionoya's criteria, and confirmed by digital subtraction angiography (DSA). Heparin and Dextran intravenous infusion was administered for 10 days. Severity of rest pain, ischemic changes in the feet, claudication distance and ankle brachial index (ABI) were estimated prior to therapy, at completion and 3 weeks after therapy. Vascular changes were assessed by CT angiography (CTA) performed prior to and 3 weeks after therapy. Twenty consecutive patients were studied. Successful hemodilution reflected by decreased hematocrit (37.4 % to 32.6 %, p < 0.05) and increased mean ABI (0.46 to 0.83, p < 0.01), improved rest pain in 75 % patients (p < 0.001), increased claudication distance in 94 % (p < 0.05) and ulcers healing in 70 % patients. CTA revealed recanalised vessels (decreased length of occluded segments) in 10 (50 %, p = 0.005), increased collaterals in 12 (60 %, p < 0.01) and improved distal run-off in 13 (65 %, p < 0.01) patients. "Heparin-Dextran" therapy in patients of CLI from BD improves tissue perfusion by increasing collaterals and recanalisation of vessels, resulting in significant relief from rest pain and clinical improvements. CTA is as efficacious as DSA for evaluation of BD.

One week of nitrofurantoin before percutaneous nephrolithotomy significantly reduces upper tract infection and urosepsis: a prospective controlled study.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the role of nitrofurantoin (NFT) prophylaxis in a prospective randomized control study. Urosepsis is an important complication after percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PNL). Risk increases by around 4 times with larger stones and hydronephrosis (HDN). MATERIAL AND METHODS: Patients with stones ≥2.5 cm and/or HDN and sterile urine undergoing PNL were randomized into 2 groups. Standard perioperative antibiotic prophylaxis was the same in both groups. One group received sustained-released NFT 100 mg b.i.d. for 7 days preoperatively, and the other did not. Preoperative urine, intraoperative renal pelvic urine, and stone cultures were obtained. Postoperative occurrence of SIRS was considered urosepsis after excluding other causes. Serum samples were collected immediately after PNL and stored at -20°C. Serum endotoxin was estimated using Limulus Amoebocyte Lysate gelation technique (Sigma Aldrich, Saint Louis, Missouri). The operating surgeons and the microbiologist were blinded to the group distribution. RESULTS: Of 101 patients, 48 received nitrofurantoin prophylaxis. Both groups were comparable for age, gender, stone burden, degree of HDN, duration of operation, and intraoperative blood loss. There was significantly low positive pelvic urine culture (0% vs 9.8%, RR 4.95, P = .001), positive stone culture (8.3% vs 30.2%, RR 3.64, P = .001), endotoxemia (17.5% vs 41.9%, OR 0.22, P = .016), and systemic inflammatory response system (19% vs 49%, OR 0.31, P = .01) in patients receiving NFT prophylaxis. CONCLUSIONS: Prophylaxis with NFT for a week before PNL is beneficial in the prevention of urosepsis and endotoxemia in patients with larger stones and HDN. NFT covers most of the urinary isolates and is preferred in areas of fluoroquinolone resistance.