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Objective: To evaluate the role of extracorporeal shockwave lithotripsy (ESWL) for the management of 'forgotten' encrusted stents. Patients and Method: This is a retrospective study of 133 patients with forgotten JJ stents, treated between January 2015 and January 2018. Encrustation was mainly found in the renal coil of the stent with distal concomitant encrustation in the vesical and/or ureteric segment. After laboratory and radiological assessment, treatment started with ESWL for the renal encrustation before successful extraction. Auxiliary endourological procedures were used for the encrusted vesical or ureteric segments. Failed cases underwent open surgery. Results: The mean (SD; range) JJ stent indwelling time was 25.84 (10; 14-70) months. In all, 96 (72.2%) patients were seen after treatment for stone disease. In total, 94 patients (70.7%) were managed by ESWL monotherapy, whilst in 36 (27%) additional endourological procedures were required before successful extraction including: cystolithotripsy 19 patients (52.8%), ureteroscopic lithotripsy eight (22.2%), and percutaneous nephrolithotomy nine (25%). Open surgery was required in only three patients (2.3%). A mean of 0.28 procedures per patient was required before smooth stent extraction. The encrusted stents were removed after the first, second, third, and fourth ESWL sessions in 44 patients (33.1%), 43 (32.3%), 26 (19.5%), and 17 (12.8%), respectively. Patients with forgotten indwelling JJ stents for >2 years had significantly larger and harder encrustation at both JJ coils. Conclusion: ESWL proved a feasible first-line treatment for forgotten encrusted JJ stents. The indwelling time of forgotten stents in the urinary tract is associated with greater encrustation burden, density and multiple sites of encrustation. Abbreviations: CLT: cystolithotripsy; ESWL: extracorporeal shockwave lithotripsy; HU: Hounsfield unit; KUB: plain abdominal radiograph of the kidneys, ureters and bladder; PCNL: percutaneous nephrolithotomy; URL: ureteroscopic lithotripsy.
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OBJECTIVES: To compare the clinical efficacy of the on-demand use of four drugs in the management of patients with premature ejaculation (PE), as the off-label use of selective serotonin-reuptake inhibitors and topical penile anaesthetics is frequently indicated for the management of patients with PE, and tramadol HCl and sildenafil citrate were also tried for managing this disorder, but with recommendations based on weak evidence. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This was a single-centre, single-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial conducted on 150 patients who had PE for >1 year. Patients were randomised equally into five groups. On-demand tramadol, sildenafil, paroxetine, local lidocaine gel or placebo was given for patients in groups 1-5, respectively. During the month before treatment, the intravaginal ejaculation latency time (IELT) and sexual satisfaction scores (on a 0-5-point scale) were measured and compared to the mean IELT and sexual satisfaction scores recorded during 4 weeks of on-demand drug administration, with monitoring of any possible side-effects. RESULTS: Tramadol-treated patients had a significantly longer mean (SD) IELT, of 351 (119) s, than the other groups. Local anaesthetic was significantly better than paroxetine in prolonging the IELT, at 278 (111) vs. 186 (65) s, respectively. The improvement in sexual satisfaction was significantly better in the sildenafil group, with a mean (SD) improvement of 2.9 (1) points, than in the paroxetine and local anaesthetic groups, at 2.2 (0.9) and 1.9 (0.9) points, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The four drugs significantly improved IELT values over placebo. Tramadol was associated with significantly longer IELT values, whilst sildenafil induced significantly better sexual satisfaction than the other drugs. The four drugs had tolerable side-effects.
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OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the prognostic significance of each of the following in the development and progression of hormonal refractory disease in patients with metastatic prostate cancer under hormonal palliative treatment: The initial serum level prostate specific antigen (PSA), the Gleason score (GS), the presence of bone metastases with or without visceral metastases, and the PSA decline. PATIENTS AND METHODS: During the time period from January 2005 to December 2008, a total of 92 patients with newly diagnosed, histologically confirmed metastatic prostate cancer (MPC) were under palliative androgen deprivation therapy. The age range was 52 to 85 years with a mean age of 66.2±7.9 years. MPC was diagnosed histologically after transrectal ultrasonography guided biopsy. The Gleason score assessment was determined by low power microscopic examination. Metastases were confirmed by positive bone scintigraphy with 925 MBq 99mTc-MDP using a tomographic gamma camera, computerized axial tomography or magnetic resonance imagining. Measurements of PSA levels were conducted by the radioimmunoassay method. The influences of the following prognostic factors were evaluated: The initial serum level of prostate specific antigen (PSA), the Gleason score (GS), the presence of bone metastases with or without visceral metastases, and the PSA decline, on the time to disease progression. RESULTS: The time to progression was significantly delayed in patients with initial PSA level $50ng/ml (median: 32 months), Gleason Score $7 (median: 33 months), bone metastases only (median: 30 months) and PSA level normalization within 6 months (median: 30 months) compared to that of patients with initial PSA level >50ng/ml (median: 24 months), Gleason Score >7 (median: 24 months), bone, distant lymph nodes and/or visceral metastases (median: 24 months), PSA level decline (median: 18 months) (p-values were 0.002, <0.001, <0.001 and <0.001 respectively). The time to progression was not significantly delayed in patients with $6 sites bone metastases (median: 30 months) compared to that of patients with >6 sites bone metastases (median: 28 months) (p=0.122). CONCLUSION: Our results showed that the initial PSA level, the Gleason score, the presence of bone, lymph nodes and visceral metastases, and the PSA level decline could predict increased risk of disease progression in patients with metastatic prostate cancer. KEY WORDS: Prostatic specific antigen - Gleason score - Bone scan - Androgen deprivation therapy.