Reduction of transverse rectal diameter and its effect on bladder dynamics in children with spinal dysraphism.

INTRODUCTION: To examine the reduction of transverse rectal diameter and its effect on bladder dynamics in children with spinal dysraphism. METHODS: We prospectively evaluated 61 consecutive children with spinal dysraphism, 25 (41%) boys and 36 (59%) girls, aged 4 to 16 years; mean age 9.3 ± 3.8 years, who received bowel management. All children underwent echosonographic measurement of transverse rectal diameter before and after starting bowel management. Also, all the patients had undergone urodynamic studies before and after starting bowel management, with no changes in their urological treatment. RESULTS: Bowel management caused an decrease in transverse rectal diameter by 56 ± 7.2% (p < 0.001). In addition, a decrease was observed for maximal detrusor pressure by 27.8 ± 7.8% (p < 0.001), leak point pressure by 37.2 ± 4.4% (p < 0.001), and PVR by 36.7 ± 8.0 (p < 0.001). Maximum bladder capacity was significantly increased after bowel management in both non-adjusted (36.4 ± 14.8%; p < 0.001) and adjusted analysis for age (39.4 ± 14.3%, p < 0.001). Detrusor compliance was also increased by 89.2 ± 24.8% (p < 0.001). Female gender and % change of maximal detrusor pressure were significant predictors of transversal rectal diameter change in univariate as well as in multivariate analysis (OR = 10.548, 95% CI 2.309-48.180; p = 0.002 and OR = 1.121, 95% CI 1.009-1.245; p = 0.034). CONCLUSIONS: Decrease in transverse rectal diameter may be useful for bladder function and urodynamic findings in children with spinal dysraphism. Therefore, decrease in transverse rectal diameter should be a supplement to standard urotherapy.

How accurate are citations of frequently cited papers in biomedical literature?

Citations are an important, but often overlooked, part of every scientific paper. They allow the reader to trace the flow of evidence, serving as a gateway to relevant literature. Most scientists are aware of citations' errors, but few appreciate the prevalence of these problems. The purpose of the present study was to examine how often frequently cited papers in biomedical scientific literature are cited inaccurately. The study included an active participation of the first authors of included papers; to first-hand verify the citations accuracy. Findings from feasibility study, where we reviewed 1540 articles containing 2526 citations of 14 most cited articles in which the authors were affiliated with the Faculty of Medicine University of Belgrade, were further evaluated for external confirmation in an independent verification set of articles. Verification set included 4912 citations identified in 2995 articles that cited 13 most cited articles published by authors affiliated with the Mayo Clinic Division of Nephrology and Hypertension. A citation was defined as being accurate if the cited article supported or was in accordance with the statement by citing authors. At least one inaccurate citation was found in 11 and 15% of articles in the feasibility study and verification set, respectively, suggesting that inaccurate citations are common in biomedical literature. The most common problem was the citation of nonexistent findings (38.4%), followed by an incorrect interpretation of findings (15.4%). One-fifth of inaccurate citations were due to chains of inaccurate citations. Based on these findings, several actions to reduce citation inaccuracies have been proposed.

Low compliance contribute to insufficient Desmopressin response of primary monosymptomatic nocturnal enuresis and the role of voiding school.

AIMS: To evaluate the impact of compliance on the therapeutic effects of Desmopressin, as well as the importance of establishing the voiding school for low-compliance children in primary monosymptomatic enuresis treatment. METHODS: Eighty-nine patients with primary monosymptomatic enuresis treated with Desmopressin were observed during the 2017-2020 at University Children's Hospital Belgrade, Serbia. The average patients age was 7.7 ± 2.4 years; 65 (73%) were boys and 24 (27%) % were girls. After the 3 months of Desmopressin treatment, the effect of therapy was evaluated according to the compliance. After the treatment, low-compliance patients and their parents were suggested to visit a voiding school. RESULTS: A significant decrease in the median enuresis frequency was noticed during the Desmopressin treatment (25.0 (20.0-26.0) vs 10.0 (2.0-17.0) per month, before vs after treatment, respectively) (p < 0.001). Patients with low compliance had a poorer response to Desmopressin (p < 0.001). An median enuresis reduction in the good compliance group was 92.3% (86.7 -95%), while in the low compliance group was 28.6% (16.7-43.3%). After attending voiding school, there was a significant increase in compliance (p < 0.001), associated with an median percent decrease in enuresis of 84.0% (75.0-95.5%) (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Compliance considerably influences the beneficial effects of Desmopressin. Patients with poor therapeutic effects should be evaluated for compliance and introduced to voiding school.

The routine use of platelet function tests in elective coronary artery bypass grafting: A prospective observational trial.

BACKGROUND: Preoperative use of platelet function tests contributes to the decrease of re-intervention rate due to bleeding and the necessity of transfusion in coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) patients. The aim was to investigate the predictive value and to justify routine preoperative use of multiple electrode aggregometry in these patients. METHODS: A prospective observational trial which included 416 consecutive patients subjected to elective isolated CABG was conducted. The Multiplate® test was used to assess platelet function. Platelet function test results, postoperative blood loss, and transfusion requirements were compared between high and low bleeding risk patients. Receiver operating characteristic analysis was performed to assess the sensitivity and specificity of the arachidonic acid (ASPI) and adenosine di-phosphate high sensitive (ADPHS) tests. RESULTS: ADPHS and ASPI test results significantly predicted total bleeding > 1000 ml (AUC, 0.685, p < .001; 0.695, p = .039). Sensitivity and specificity were 62.9% and 40.0%, for ADPHS ≤602, and 70.8% and 41.8%, for ASPI ≤ 453. The sensitivity and specificity of cut-off values recommended by the manufacturer were 84.2% and 40.0% for ADPHS ≤ 500, while for ASPI < 600 the values were 54.7% and 62.2%. More platelets and cryoprecipitate were transfused in patients with ADPHS ≤ 602.5 (p < .001; p = .035). Patients with ADPHS ≤ 500 had a higher rate of red blood count, platelet and cryoprecipitate transfusion (p<.001p<.001; p = .013). The manufacturer's ASPI test cut-off values showed no statistically significant prediction for a higher transfusion rate. CONCLUSION: Preoperative platelet function tests should be conducted systematically for all elective CABG patients who were on dual antiplatelet therapy after adjusting test cut-off values for each population.

Impact of bowel management in alleviating symptoms of urinary incontinence in patients with spina bifida associated with overactive bladder and detrusor sphincter dyssynergia.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the effects of bowel management on urinary incontinence in patients with spina bifida associated with overactive bladder (OAB) and detrusor sphincter dyssynergia (DSD). MATERIALS AND METHODS: The research was carried out during the period 2014-2017. A total of 35 patients (group 1) were administered bowel management combined with anticholinergic medication therapy and clean intermittent catheterization (CIC) and 35 patients (group 2) were treated only with anticholinergic medication therapy and CIC. Bowel management included daily enema, laxative application and a special diet, with the aim of treating constipation, evaluated according to the Roma III criteria and echosonographically determined transversal rectal diameter. The effects of the administered bowel management on urinary incontinence were assessed according to the mean dry interval between two CICs for all patients. All patients were followed up for 1 year, during which data were prospectively collected. RESULTS: There was no statistically significant difference with regard to age, gender and baseline clinical features between the two groups. In group 1, the mean ± sd dry interval between two CICs was 150.0 ± 36.4 min, and group 2 it was 101.3 ± 51.6 min. There was a significant difference in urinary incontinence, i.e. in the mean dry interval, between the two groups (P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Administering bowel management considerably increased the mean dry interval, thus greatly alleviating the symptoms of urinary incontinence. For this reason, bowel management should form an integral part of the treatment of patients with spina bifida and OAB and DSD.

Clinical Impact of Patient-Prosthesis Mismatch After Aortic Valve Replacement With a Mechanical or Biological Prosthesis.

BACKGROUND: Patient-prosthesis mismatch (PPM) may impair functional capacity and survival after aortic valve replacement. This study aimed to investigate the impact of PPM on long-term survival and quality of life after mechanical and biological aortic valve replacement. METHODS: This study included 595 consecutive patients who had undergone isolated aortic valve replacement. Patients were divided into 2 groups according to prosthesis type. The baseline and operative characteristics, survival rates, complications, and quality of life of the groups with and without PPM were compared for up to 6 years. The PPM calculation was performed using the effective orifice area value provided by the manufacturer divided by the patient's body surface area. RESULTS: The moderate to severe PPM rates were 69.8% and 3.7% after biological and mechanical prosthesis implantation, respectively. Mean survival for patients in the biological group who had PPM was statistically significantly shorter (50.2 months [95% CI, 45.2-55.3]) than for patients in the biological group without PPM (60.1 months [95% CI, 55.7-64.4]; P = .04). In the mechanical prosthesis group, there was no difference in mean survival between the subgroup with PPM (66.6 months [95% CI, 58.3-74.9]) and the subgroup without PPM (64.9 months [95% CI, 62.6-67.2]; P = .50). A quality-of-life questionnaire's scores did not differ between the groups. CONCLUSION: Mismatch is common after biological valve implantation and statistically significantly affects long-term survival and quality of life. If the risk of PPM after implantation of a biological prosthesis is suspected, adopting strategies to avoid PPM at the time of surgery is warranted.

The influence of bowel management on urodynamic findings in spina bifida children with detrusor overactivity and detrusor sphincter dyssynergia.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the effects of bowel management on urodynamic findings in spina bifida children with detrusor overactivity (DO) and detrusor sphincter dyssynergia (DSD). MATERIAL AND METHODS: Between 2014 and 2019 we prospectively evaluated 39 consecutive spina bifida children with DO and DSD (18 (46.2%) boys and 21 (53.8%) girls, aged 4-16 years; mean age 9.5 ± 3.7 years) who received bowel management and we treated their bowel dysfunction with an aim of alleviating the symptoms of constipation, preventing constant overdistension of the rectosigmoid, providing regular emptying of the colon and faecal continence. Bowel management included daily enema, laxative application and a special diet who was performed during 12 months. All children had undergone urodynamic studies before and after starting bowel management, with no changes in their urological treatment. RESULTS: Bowel management caused an increase in maximum bladder capacity from 183.0 (112.0-234.0) to 237.0 (165.0-298.0) (p < 0.001). When maximal bladder capacity adjusted for age there was also significant increment (adjusted before 0.54 (0.47-0.64), adjusted after 0.75 (0.70-0.82), p < 0.001). In addition, we observed a decrease in maximal detrusor pressure from 64.3 (49.0-77.0) to 46.4 (32.0-59.0) cm H2O (p < 0.001) and an increase in bladder compliance from 3.0 (2.0-3.3) to 5.6 (3.9-6.6) ml/cm H2O (p < 0.001). There was also significant reductions in leak point pressure from 62.0 (48.0-69.0) to 39.0 (30.0-43.0) cm H2O (p = 0.001), and significant reductions in post-void residual volume (PVR) from 165.0 (128.0-187.0) to 98.0 (68.0-136.0) ml in our 13 patients who could achieve spontaneous voiding (p = 0.001). CONCLUSION: Administering bowel management may be useful for bladder function and urodynamic findings in spina bifida children with DO and DSD. Therefore, bowel management should form an integral part of the treatment in spina bifida children with DO and DSD.

The influence of bowel management on the frequency of urinary infections in spina bifida patients.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the effects of bowel management on the frequency of urinary infections in spina bifida patients. STUDY DESIGN: The research was carried out from 2014 to 2017, with the recruitment process from June 2014 to March 2016. The first group consisted of 35 patients who were administered bowel management combined with anticholinergic medication therapy and clean intermittent catheterization (CIC). The second group consisted of 35 patients who were treated only with anticholinergic medication therapy and CIC. Bowel management included daily enema, laxative application, and a special diet, with a view to treating constipation that was estimated on the basis of Roma III criteria and echosonographically determined transversal rectal diameter. The effects of the administered bowel management on urinary infections were estimated on the basis of the number of urinary infections before and after the administered therapy. The observation period of every patient was 1 year. RESULTS: There were no significant statistical differences regarding age, gender, and baseline clinical features between the two groups. In the group treated with bowel management combined with anticholinergic medication therapy and CIC, the average number of urinary infections was 0.3 ± 0.5 SD, whereas in the group treated exclusively with anticholinergic medication therapy and CIC the average number of urinary infections was 1.1 ± 1.0 SD. There was a statistical difference regarding urinary infections, that is the average number of urinary infections between these two groups of patients (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Administering bowel management considerably decreases the frequency of urinary infections, and should form an integral part of treatment of spina bifida patients.