Initial transperineal prostate biopsy experience at a high-volume center.

INTRODUCTION: Transperineal prostate biopsy (TPBx) allows for prostate cancer detection with fewer infectious complications when compared to transrectal prostate biopsy (TRUSBx). We evaluated the initial experience of a single physician with no prior TPBx exposure, compared to TRUSBx and MRI/US fusion biopsy (MRIBx) performed by experienced physicians. MATERIALS AND METHODS: All consecutive patients undergoing prostate biopsy (June 2019-March 2020) were included. Patient discomfort, procedural time, clinically significant cancer detection rates (csCDR) and 30-day complications were compared between TPBx, TRUSBx and MRIBx. RESULTS: A total of 303 patients underwent biopsy. Comparing TPBx to TRUSBx to MRIBx, median pain scores during the anesthetic block were 4 versus 2 versus 3 (p = 0.007) respectively, and not statistically different during the rest of the procedure. Median time of biopsy was 11, 7.5 and 12 minutes respectively. csCDR were 38%, 29.8%, and 43.6% (p = 0.12) respectively. The combined transrectal groups (n = 211) had nine complications including two sepsis events. The TPBx group (n = 92) had no 30-day complications. CONCLUSIONS: TPBx was well tolerated in the office setting with similar levels of discomfort for all aspects of the procedure compared to transrectal approach. Learning curve for TPBx showed rapid improvement in procedural time within the first 15 cases with an average procedure time of 9 minutes thereafter. Similar rates of csCDR were found between the groups and TPBx had significantly fewer infectious complications than standard transrectal technique.

Reducing postoperative opioid pill prescribing via a quality improvement approach.

BACKGROUND: The opioid epidemic has been fueled by prescribing unnecessary quantities of opioid pills for postoperative use. While evidence mounts that postoperative opioids can be reduced or eliminated, implementing such changes within various institutions can be met with many barriers to adoption. OBJECTIVE: To address excess opioid prescribing within our institutions, we applied a plan-do-study-act (PDSA)-like quality improvement strategy to assess local opioid prescribing and use, modify our institutional protocols, and assess the impacts of the change. The opioid epidemic has been fueled by prescribing unnecessary quantities of opioid pills for postoperative use. While evidence mounts that postoperative opioids can be reduced or eliminated, implementing such changes within various institutions can be met with many barriers to adoption. We describe our approach, findings, and lessons learned from our quality improvement approach. METHODS: We prospectively recorded home pain pill usage after robotic-assisted laparoscopic prostatectomy (RALP) and robotic-assisted partial nephrectomy (RAPN) at two academic institutions from July 2016 to July 2019. Patients prospectively recorded their home pain pill use on a take-home log. Other factors, including numeric pain rating scale on the day of discharge, were extracted from patient records. We analyzed our data and modified opioid prescription protocols to meet the reported use data of 80% of patients. We continued collecting data after the protocol change. We also used our prospectively collected data to assess the accuracy of a retrospective phone survey designed to measure postdischarge opioid use. Our primary outcomes were the proportion of patients taking zero opioid pills postdischarge, median pills taken after discharge and the number of excess pills prescribed but not taken. We compared these outcomes before and after protocol change. RESULTS: A total of 266 patients (193 RALP, 73 RAPN) were included. Reducing the standard number of prescribed pills did not increase the percentage of patients taking zero pills postdischarge in either group (RALP: 47% vs. 41%; RAPN 48% vs. 34%). The patients in either group reporting postoperative Day 1 pain score of 0 or 1 were much more likely to use zero postdischarge opioid pills. Our reduction in prescribing protocol resulted in an estimated reduction in excess pills from 1555 excess pills in the prior protocol to just 155 excess pills in the new protocol. CONCLUSION: Our PDSA-like approach led to an acceptable protocol revision resulting in significant reductions in excess pills released into the community. Reducing the quantity of opioids prescribed postoperatively does not increase the percentage of patients taking zero pills postdischarge. To eliminate opioid use may require no-opioid pathways. Our approach can be used in implementing zero opioid discharge plans and can be applied to opioid reduction interventions at other institutions where barriers to reduced prescribing exist.

Evaluating use of higher dose oxybutynin in combination with desmopressin for refractory nocturnal enuresis.

INTRODUCTION: Nocturnal enuresis is a common pediatric condition with limited treatment options. In older children, pharmacologic therapy is often the preferred treatment. Pharmacologic therapies including desmopressin (DDAVP) or imipramine are effective in 40-50% of children. However, imipramine has serious safety concerns. Desmopressin in combination with a fixed dose anticholinergic has been shown to be useful in individuals who fail desmopressin monotherapy, but still fails to achieve success rates greater than 60%. OBJECTIVE: The goal was to explore the efficacy and safety of using combination therapy desmopressin plus oxybutynin with increasing dose of oxybutynin in patients refractory to standard combination therapy. STUDY DESIGN: This was a single institution, IRB-approved, retrospective chart review of 61 patients (ages 7-18 years) including those with monosymptomatic primary nocturnal enuresis and non-monosymptomatic enuresis with controlled daytime voiding symptoms (CDVS) treated initially with desmopressin. All patients who failed initial therapy with desmopressin were started on combination therapy desmopressin (0.6 mg) plus standard dose (5 mg) oxybutynin. In patients who failed standard combination therapy, the dose of oxybutynin was titrated upwards until a response or the maximum dose of 10 mg was achieved. Demographic and medical history data were evaluated to determine predictive factors associated with response/failure to different therapy groups. RESULTS: The use of escalating doses of oxybutynin in combination with desmopressin achieved an overall response rate of 96.7% defined as a 2-week period without any enuretic events following initiation of treatment. Low-dose combination therapy (LDCT) (0.6 mg of desmopressin+5 mg of oxybutynin) had a response rate of 68% (Table). Advanced dose combination therapy (ADCT) (0.6 mg of desmopressin+7.5-10 mg of oxybutynin) had a response rate of 75.0%. A statistically significant relationship was found correlating both attention deficit disorder/attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder(ADD/ADHD) and CDVS with failure on monotherapy. No patients in the study reported any adverse events or side effects from the medications. DISCUSSION: The overall success rate of 96.7% with titrated doses of oxybutynin in combination with desmopressin is considerably higher than the response rates on fixed dose combination therapy quoted in the literature and supports the need for further evaluation in larger studies. Additionally, we found a statistically significant association between monotherapy failure and children with either ADD/ADHD or controlled daytime voiding symptoms. Our study is limited by small numbers and larger studies are needed to confirm these results. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that ADCT is a safe and effective treatment option for primary nocturnal enuresis refractory to standard and low-dose combination therapy.

Human 'brite/beige' adipocytes develop from capillary networks, and their implantation improves metabolic homeostasis in mice.

Uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1) is highly expressed in brown adipose tissue, where it generates heat by uncoupling electron transport from ATP production. UCP1 is also found outside classical brown adipose tissue depots, in adipocytes that are termed 'brite' (brown-in-white) or 'beige'. In humans, the presence of brite or beige (brite/beige) adipocytes is correlated with a lean, metabolically healthy phenotype, but whether a causal relationship exists is not clear. Here we report that human brite/beige adipocyte progenitors proliferate in response to pro-angiogenic factors, in association with expanding capillary networks. Adipocytes formed from these progenitors transform in response to adenylate cyclase activation from being UCP1 negative to being UCP1 positive, which is a defining feature of the beige/brite phenotype, while displaying uncoupled respiration. When implanted into normal chow-fed, or into high-fat diet (HFD)-fed, glucose-intolerant NOD-scid IL2rg(null) (NSG) mice, brite/beige adipocytes activated in vitro enhance systemic glucose tolerance. These adipocytes express neuroendocrine and secreted factors, including the pro-protein convertase PCSK1, which is strongly associated with human obesity. Pro-angiogenic conditions therefore drive the proliferation of human beige/brite adipocyte progenitors, and activated beige/brite adipocytes can affect systemic glucose homeostasis, potentially through a neuroendocrine mechanism.