Role of urine glycosaminoglycan levels in the diagnosis and follow-up in men with lower urinary tract symptoms.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to investigate whether urinary glycosaminoglycans (GAG) levels reflect clinical status in men with lower urinary tract symptoms and if they could be used as a marker in management of overactive bladder (OAB). METHODS: A total of 34 patients were recruited who were admitted with LUTS and diagnosed as having clinically bladder outlet obstruction (BOO) due to prostate enlargement. These newly diagnosed, never treated patients underwent routine investigation, consisting of history, physical examination, PSA, ultrasound, uroflowmetry, assessment of symptoms scored by both International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS) and Marmara- Overactive Bladder Questionnaire (M-OBQ). The patients were divided into two groups as those with an initial M-OBQ score < 12 (group 1) and ≥ 13 (group 2). Alfa blocker was initiated in eligible patients. Further evaluations included prostate volume measurement, pre- and post-treatment urinary GAG levels, IPSS and M-QAOB values and maximum urine flow rate (Qmax). RESULTS: Before treatment, urinary GAG level was 21.5 mg/gCr (6.1-45.5) in Group 1, and 23.35 mg/gCr (15.6-32.6) in Group 2 (p =0.845). After the treatment, the GAG level in Group 1 and Group 2 were found to be 19.8 mg/gCr (7.4-70.5) and 18 (7.6- 41.7), respectively (p = 0.511). No difference in GAG levels was found in subgroup analysis for patients with or without OAB. CONCLUSIONS: In recent years, there have been many studies investigating the relationship between LUTS and urinary markers. However, in our prospective study, no relationship was found between pre- and post- treatment urinary GAG levels in patients with LUTS with or without OAB.

Outcomes of fluoroscopy-free retrograde intrarenal surgery and predictive factors of stone-free.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the outcomes of flouroscopy-free retrograde intrarenal surgery (ffRIRS) and to investigate the factors that may affect stone-free rate. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The charts of patients who underwent ffRIRS between January 2017 and August 2019 were reviewed retrospectively. Patients with missing preoperative imaging and patients with kidney anomalies were excluded from the study. Age, gender, stone size, stone localization, stone density, laterality, operation time, stone-free rate, complications and auxiliary procedures were recorded and analyzed. RESULTS: Study group involved 44 (43.1%) female and 58 (56.8%) male patients. Stone-free rate in a single-session ffRIRS were found to be correlated with stone localization (p = 0.003), stone volume (p = 0.004), and stone density (p = 0.009) but not with age (p = 0.950). Patients with multiple calyceal stones and a stone burden over 520 mm3 were found to be less stone-free. The complication rate in female gender (n = 7) was significantly higher compared to male (n = 1) (p = 0.011). No major complications such as ureteral injury or avulsion were observed. Overall, 13 patients (12.7%) needed auxiliary procedures. The operation time seemed to be affected by stone size and gender (p = 0.005; p = 0.044, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Stone-free rate in ffRIRS were found to be affected by stone density, size, and localization. Patients with multiple caliceal stones and high stone burden (< 520 mm3) have been found to have low stone-free rate, so one can speculate that having fluoroscopy assistance in RIRS might help us to improve surgical success.

Undifferentiated carcinoma of the epididymis.

Epididymal tumors are uncommon and usually benign, with only 25% of them being malignant. Undifferentiated epididymal carcinoma in particular is extremely rare. We report on a 54-year-old male patient presented with right testicular pain and scrotal mass for the last 6 months. Laboratory investigations were unremarkable but epididymal biopsy result was epididymal undifferentiated carcinoma. Inguinal radical orchidectomy was performed and pathological examination of the surgical specimen confirmed the presence of undifferentiated carcinoma. Then, adjuvant chemoradiotherapy (four cycles of cisplatin-etoposide chemotherapy and radiotherapy) was administered. After four months, lung metastases were detected and three doses ifosfamide-Adriamycin chemotherapy were given, but the patient died due to the disease progression. Reports of epididymal undifferentiated carcinoma are extremely rare and the present report emphasizes the need of including epididymal undifferentiated carcinoma in the differential diagnosis of an epididymal mass.

[A case of Brucella prostatitis misdiagnosed as prostate carcinoma]. / Prostat karsinomu ile karisan bir Brucella prostatiti olgusu.

Brucellosis is a major public health problem in Turkey and all over the world. Joint pain, night sweats, anorexia, weakness, loss of weight and headache are the basic symptoms of brucellosis and the illness can affect many organs. Genitourinary involvement is reported in 2-20% of cases, epididimoorchitis being the most frequent complication, however, prostatic involvement is far more uncommon. In this paper, a case of Brucella prostatitis misdiagnosed as prostate carcinoma has been presented. A 50-years-old man who was a microbiology laboratory staff has been admitted to our outpatient clinic with the complaints of joint pain, weakness, fever, urgency, difficulty and pain during urination. Since prostate specific antigen (PSA) was 23.6 ng/ml (normal value < 4 ng/ml) and free PSA (fPSA) was 3.89 ng/ml (normal value < 1 ng/ml), needle biopsy from the prostate was performed. Blood cultures performed by BACTEC 9200 (Becton Dickinson, Sparks, Md.) system yielded Brucella melitensis, and the pathological examination of the prostate biopsy revealed prostatic hyperplasia and prostatitis. Brucella standard tube agglutination titer was 1/320. Upon the diagnosis of Brucella prostatitis the patient was treated with a combination of 200 mg doxycycline and 600 mg rifampicin daily for 6 months. During the follow-up period no complication was detected in the patient and the PSA level decreased to 1.57 ng/ml and fPSA to 0.43 ng/ml. This case was reported to withdraw attention to prostatic involvement during brucellosis. Elevated PSA values with the signs and symptoms of brucellosis in endemic areas should be evaluated accordingly and appropriate therapy should be initiated without any delay.

[Isolation of Brucella melitensis from ejaculate culture of a brucellosis patient with epididymoorchitis]. / Ejekülat kültüründe Brucella melitensis üretilen epididimoorsitli bir bruselloz olgusu.

Brucellosis is a significant public health problem particularly in developing countries. People are frequently infected through milk, milk products, urine and pregnancy material of animals with brucellosis. Epididymoorchitis is the most frequent genitourinary complication of brucellosis and is often unilateral. In this report, a 35 years old male patient who was diagnosed as epididymoorchitis based on clinical presentation, laboratory findings and imaging techniques, has been presented. Brucella melitensis was isolated from blood, bone marrow and ejaculate cultures of the patient. The patient was treated with rifampicine and doxycycline combination therapy for six weeks and no complication has developed in the one year follow-up period. In areas where brucellosis is endemic, such as our country, Brucella infection should be considered in the differential diagnosis of epididymoorchitis and in addition to blood and bone marrow cultures, ejaculate cultures should also be evaluated.