Differences in Patient Characteristics Among Men Choosing Open or Robot-Assisted Radical Prostatectomy in Contemporary Practice at a European High-Volume Center.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the characteristics of robot-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP) and open radical prostatectomy (ORP) patients at a high-volume center. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We relied on the Martini-Clinic database and focused on prostate cancer patients treated in 2013. Characteristics in ORP and RARP patients were assessed. In multivariable logistic regression analyses (MVA), we predicted RARP treatment. RESULTS: Of 1,920 patients, 575 (29.9%) underwent RARP and 1,345 (70.1%) ORP. RARP patients had a lower prostate-specific antigen (PSA), and were less likely to harbor pT3b, pathological Gleason ≥4 + 4 or lymph node metastases (all p < 0.05). Pelvic lymph node dissection (PLND) (84.3 vs. 87.0%, p = 0.1), as well as positive surgical margins (15.5 vs. 15.7%, p = 0.7) and the nerve-sparing status (p = 0.5) were comparable between RARP and ORP. Lymph node yield (median 11 vs. 16), and median blood loss (250 vs. 700 ml) were lower at RARP (all p < 0.001). Additionally, the median operating room time was higher at RARP (215 vs. 185 min, p < 0.001). In MVA, patients with body mass index (BMI) ≥30 were more likely to undergo RARP (OR 1.8, 95% CI 1.3-2.4, p < 0.001). Conversely, patients with PSA >20 ng/ml were less likely to undergo RARP (OR 0.6, 95% CI 0.4-1.0, p = 0.03). CONCLUSIONS: More favorable pathological characteristics were recorded at RARP. High BMI and low PSA were independent predictors for RARP. Treatment characteristics such as PLND rates, margin status and nerve sparing were comparable between RARP and ORP. Despite lower blood loss at RARP, a longer operating room time and lower yield of lymph nodes were recorded.

Heparin reversal with protamine sulfate after Percutaneous Hepatic Perfusion (PHP): is less more?

PURPOSE: Percutaneous hepatic perfusion (PHP) is a palliative intraarterial therapy for unresectable hepatic malignancies. During PHP, high-dose melphalan is infused via the hepatic artery to saturate tumor in the liver with the chemotherapeutic substance. The venous hepatic blood is filtered by an extracorporeal melphalan specific filtration system. Blood clotting in the extracorporeal filter system is prevented by administering unfractionated heparin (UFH) in high doses, which might be reversed with protamine sulfate after the procedure. Aim of this retrospective two-center-study was to analyze the potential effect of UFH reversal with protamine sulfate on complication rates following PHP. MATERIALS AND METHODS: All patients receiving PHP treatment between 10/2014 and 04/2021 were classified according to their intraprocedural coagulation management: 92 patients/192 PHP received full UFH reversal with protamine (groupPROTAMINE); 13 patients/21 PHP in groupREDUCED_PROTAMINE received a reduced amount of protamine, and 28 patients/43 PHP did not receive UFH reversal with protamine (groupNO_PROTAMINE). Periinterventional clinical reports, findings and laboratory values were retrospectively evaluated. Complications and adverse events were classified according to Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAEv5.0). RESULTS: Thromboembolic events were recorded after 10 PHP procedures (5%) in groupPROTAMINE, six of which (3%) were major events (CTCAE grade 3-5). No (0%) thromboembolic events were recorded in groupREDUCED_PROTAMINE and groupNO_PROTAMINE. Hemorrhagic events were registered after 24 PHP (13%) in groupPROTAMINE, two of which (1%) were major (CTCAE grade 3-4). In groupREDUCED_PROTAMINE, only minor bleeding events were recorded, and one major hemorrhagic event was documented in groupNO_PROTAMINE (2%). There was a significant difference between the percentage of post-interventional thrombopenia in groupPROTAMINE (39%) and groupREDUCED_PROTAMINE (14%) versus groupNO_PROTAMINE (23%) (p=.00024). In groupPROTAMINE one patient suffered from a severe anaphylactic shock after the administration of protamine. CONCLUSION: Our retrospective study implies that there might be a link between the practice of protamine sulfate administration to reverse the full hemodilutive effect of UFH after PHP and the post-interventional risk of thromboembolic events as well as clinically significant thrombopenia. Our data suggest that the standard use of protamine sulfate after PHP in low-risk patients without clinical signs of active bleeding should be critically re-evaluated.