A Randomized Clinical Trial of Standard versus Expanded Cultures to Diagnose Urinary Tract Infections in Women.

PURPOSE: We compared urinary tract infection (UTI) symptom resolution rates at 7-10 days in symptomatic women randomized to treatment based on standard urine culture (SUC) versus expanded quantitative urine culture (EQUC) results. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Women ≥18 years old who responded "yes" to "do you feel you have a UTI?" agreed to urethral catheterization and followup. Symptoms were assessed using the validated UTI Symptom Assessment (UTISA) questionnaire. Culture method was randomized 2:1 (SUC:EQUC); antibiotics were prescribed to women with positive cultures. The primary outcome, UTI symptom resolution, was determined 7-10 days following enrollment on all participants regardless of treatment. RESULTS: Demographic data were similar between groups. Of the SUC and EQUC groups 63% and 74% had positive cultures (p=0.10), respectively. Of participants with positive cultures 97% received antibiotics. Primary outcome data were provided by 215 of 225 participants (SUC 143 [95%], EQUC 72 [97%]). At the primary outcome assessment, 64% and 69% in the SUC and EQUC groups, respectively, reported UTI symptom resolution (p=0.46); UTISA scores improved from baseline in the EQUC arm compared to the SUC arm (p=0.04). In the subset of women predominated by non-Escherichia coli (76), there was a trend toward more symptom resolution in the EQUC arm (21%, p=0.08). CONCLUSIONS: Symptom resolution was similar for the overall population (E. coli and non-E. coli) of women treated for UTI symptoms based on SUC or EQUC. Although the sample size limits conclusions regarding the utility of EQUC in women with non-E. coli uropathogens, the detected trend indicates that this understudied clinical subset warrants further study.

Electrical stimulation in overactive bladder.

Electrical stimulation is an effective and well-tolerated treatment for overactive bladder. Initial work in animals indicated the potential of this treatment, and early clinical experience in Europe further supported its likely efficacy. Although the mechanism of action of electrical stimulation remains unproven in humans, it is believed to be a neuromodulating therapy which affects the neural signaling that controls continence. There is also strong evidence that electrical stimulation affects striated muscle. The therapy can cause hypertrophy of skeletal muscle fibers, possibly by the recruitment of faster-conducting motor units, which would not normally be recruited during voluntary efforts. In addition, electrical stimulation can alter the expression of myosin isoforms, favoring a conversion to type I muscle. Despite our incomplete understanding of the mechanism of action of electrical stimulation, clinical devices have been developed quickly. Case series have been reported throughout Europe. These were followed by controlled clinical trials in the United States. There is good evidence that the use of vaginal electrical stimulators can reduce the occurrence of symptoms of overactive bladder in about half of the patients treated. Multiple uses of nonimplanted stimulation, including thigh stimulation, anal stimulation, and direct pelvic muscle stimulation, have been reported. In these trials, it is common for objective findings to be poorly correlated with subjective reports of improvements or cure. Patients frequently report that the urge-to-leak time improves, but this is difficult to measure objectively. The use of nonimplanted devices is effective and well tolerated, and should precede the use of implanted devices. A direct comparison with other effective methods of treatment for overactive bladder is warranted.

Transvaginal electrical stimulation for female urinary incontinence.

OBJECTIVE: Our purpose was to determine the objective and subjective efficacy of transvaginal electrical stimulation for treatment of common forms of urinary incontinence in women. STUDY DESIGN: A prospective, double-blind, randomized clinical trial included 121 women with either urinary incontinence caused by detrusor instability or genuine stress incontinence, or both (mixed incontinence). Participants used the assigned device for 8 weeks. Identical preintervention and postintervention assessment included multichannel urodynamic testing, quality-of-life scale, and urinary diaries. RESULTS: A total of 121 women completed this study at four North American urogynecology centers. Detrusor instability was cured (stable on provocative cystometry) in 49% of women with detrusor instability who used an active electrical device (p = 0.0004, McNemar's test), whereas there was no statistically significant change in the percentage with detrusor instability in the sham device group. There was no statistically significant difference between the preintervention and postintervention rates of genuine stress incontinence for either the active device group or the sham device group. CONCLUSION: This form of transvaginal electrical stimulation may be effective for treatment of detrusor overactivity, with or without genuine stress incontinence.

Kegel or cut? Variations on his theme.

Pelvic floor muscle training has long been recognized as a beneficial treatment for urinary incontinence. This paper discusses the concepts of muscle grading facilitation and training. Individually designed programs, suitable for the patient's current status, are critical to success. It may be tempting to operate, but it takes a dedicated health care provider to manage incontinence nonsurgically.

Nonsurgical treatment of detrusor overactivity in postmenopausal women.

Detrusor overactivity with subsequent urge incontinence becomes increasingly more prevalent as women age. Because of that, most women treated for detrusor instability and hyperreflexia are postmenopausal and are not always good candidates for the same treatments given to their younger counterparts. Nonsurgical treatments of detrusor overactivity are available to postmenopausal women.

Serum calcitonin-lowering effect of magnesium in patients with medullary carcinoma of the thyroid.

The effect of magnesium chloride or magnesium sulfate infusion on circulating levels of immunoreactive calcitonin (iCT) was evaluated on nine occasions in three patients with metastatic medullary carcinoma of the thyroid. One patient was normocalcemic and had normal circulating levels of immunoreactive parathyroid hormone (iPTH), one patient was hypocalcemic and had surgical hypoparathyroidism, and one patient had mild to moderate hypercalcemia associated with bone metastases. The basal serum iPTH levels were undetectable in the latter two patients. In every instance magnesium administration produced a rapid and striking fall in circulating iCT and usually a detectable fall in serum calcium. During the hypermagnesemic state, serum iPTH fell from normal to undetectable in the patient with normal parathyroid function, while serum iPTH levels remained undetectable in the hypoparathyroid patient and in the patient with hypercalcemia associated with bone metastases. The results of these studies indicate that: (a) contrary to what has been reported in normal experimental animals, magnesium administration lowers circulating iCT in human subjects with thyroid medullary carcinoma and (b) the calcium-lowering effect produced by magnesium in patients with medullary carcinoma may, in part at least, be due to a redistribution of body calcium that is not mediated by the actions of either parathyroid hormone or clacitonin.