Efficacy of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation combined with mirabegron therapy compared with mirabegron monotherapy for overactive bladder: a prospective randomized controlled study.

PURPOSE: The objective was to evaluate the efficacy of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) combined with mirabegron therapy compared with mirabegron monotherapy in the treatment of female patients with overactive bladder (OAB). METHODS: In this randomized controlled study, 100 female outpatients with OAB were screened. Among these patients, 86 who met the inclusion criteria were randomly divided into the TENS combined with mirabegron treatment group and mirabegron monotherapy treatment group, with 43 patients in each group. The voiding diary, Overactive Bladder Symptom Score (OABSS), Overactive Bladder Questionnaire Symptom Bother Score (OAB-q SBS), total health-related quality of life (OAB-q HRQoL), and treatment satisfaction-visual analog scale (TS-VAS) score before and after treatment were recorded to evaluate the efficacy of OAB treatment. Seventy-nine of the 86 patients (40 in the TENS plus mirabegron group and 39 in the mirabegron monotherapy group) completed 12 weeks of treatment. RESULTS: TENS combined with mirabegron therapy was superior to mirabegron monotherapy in improving the primary endpoints, including the daily number of micturition episodes and the daily MVV/micturition and secondary endpoints, including the daily number of urgency episodes, the OABSS, the OAB-q SBS, the HRQoL score and TS-VAS score. There were no statistically significant differences in urgency urinary incontinence and nocturia between the groups. Some minor adverse effects were observed, including muscle pain, local paresthesia and constipation. CONCLUSIONS: The combination of TENS and mirabegron was more effective than mirabegron alone in the treatment of female patients with OAB. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: ChiCTR2400080528 (31.01.2024, retrospectively registered).

Clinical Characteristics and Risk Factors of Systemic Inflammatory Response Syndrome after Flexible Ureteroscopic Lithotripsy.

OBJECTIVES: Flexible ureteroscopic lithotripsy (FURL), as a common method for treating upper urinary tract calculi, has the risks of complications such as infection and bleeding. Especially, systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) after FURL may induce multiple organ dysfunction threatening the lives of patients. We aimed to investigate the clinical characteristics and risk factors of SIRS after FURL. METHODS: A total of 157 upper urinary tract calculus patients treated with FURL from January 2018 to December 2019 were enrolled, and clinical outcomes and complications were analyzed. Patients were divided into SIRS group (n = 31) and non-SIRS group (n = 126) according to the presence or absence of SIRS after FURL. Their clinical data were compared by univariate analysis, and the factors with statistically significant difference were incorporated into LASSO logistic regression analysis. The model was visualized using a nomogram, and model discrimination and accuracy were verified. RESULTS: The results of univariate analysis indicated that there were significant differences in gender, average stone size, preoperative urinary white blood cell count, surgery time and postoperative stone bacterial culture between the two groups. The results of LASSO logistic regression analysis showed that the above factors were independent risk factors for patients with SIRS. The C-index of the SIRS risk prediction model was 0.992. The area under the ROC curve of this model was 0.944 (95% CI: 0.913-0.997), the sensitivity was 97.9%, and the specificity was 95.8%. The average absolute error between actual and predicted risk probabilities was 0.028. The model for predicting the risk of SIRS had good discrimination and high consistency with the actual observed value. CONCLUSIONS: Females, larger stones, higher preoperative urinary white blood cell count, longer surgery time and postoperative positive stone bacterial culture are independent risk factors of SIRS after FURL for upper urinary tract calculi.

Value of urine IL-8, NGAL and KIM-1 for the early diagnosis of acute kidney injury in patients with ureteroscopic lithotripsy related urosepsis.

PURPOSE: To investigate the clinical value of urine interleukin-18 (IL-8), neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) and kidney injury molecule-1 (KIM-1) for the early diagnosis of acute kidney injury (AKI) in patients with ureteroscopic lithotripsy (URL) related urosepsis. METHODS: A retrospective study was carried out in 157 patients with urosepsis after URL. The patients were divided into AKI group and non-AKI group according to the Kidigo guideline and urine IL-8, NGAL and KIM-1 levels were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay at 0, 4, 12, 24 and 48 h after the surgery. Receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) was used to evaluate the diagnostic value of these three biomarkers for postoperative AKI. RESULTS: The level of urine IL-8, NGAL and KIM-1 in AKI group was significantly higher than that in non-AKI group at 4, 12, 24 and 48 h (p < 0.01). The ROC analysis showed the combined detection of urine IL-8, NGAL and KIM-1 at 12 h had a larger area under curve (AUC) than a single marker (0.997, 95% CI: 0.991-0.998), and the sensitivity and specificity were 98.2% and 96.7%, respectively. Pearson correlation analysis showed that the levels of urine NGAL at 4, 12, 24 and 48 h in AKI patients were positively correlated with the levels of urine KIM-1 and IL-18 (p < 0.01). CONCLUSION: AKI could be quickly recognized by the elevated level of urine IL-8, NGAL and KIM-1 in patients with URL-related urosepsis. Combined detection of the three urine biomarkers at 12 h after surgery had a better diagnostic performance, which may be an important reference for the early diagnosis of AKI.