Validation of testicular workup for ischemia and suspected torsion score in patients with acute scrotum.

INTRODUCTION: The Testicular Workup for Ischemia and Suspected Torsion (TWIST) score was created to help physicians in the clinical evaluation of acute scrotum in which testicular torsion (TT) is suspected. There have been only a few reports on validation of the TWIST score since the original study was published. OBJECTIVES: To validate the TWIST score as a scoring system. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We reviewed the records of 106 patients with acute scrotum in our prospectively maintained database. The patients were divided into two groups by the final diagnosis: testicular torsion (group TT) or non-testicular torsion (group NTT). We retrospectively calculated the TWIST score of the patients. Patients were divided into low (0-2), intermediate (3-4), or high (5-7) risk groups according to the total score. RESULTS: Fifteen patients (14%) had TT. The median age at presentation was 13.3 years (range 1.6-16.2) in group TT and 10.4 years (range 0.25-18.9) in group NTT, respectively. The sensitivity of clinical and Color Doppler ultrasonography (CDUS) findings to diagnose TT was 100%, whereas the specificity was 93.4%. Positive predictive value (PPV) and negative predictive value (NPV) were 71.4% and 100%, respectively. According to the calculated TWIST score, 65, 23, and 18 patients belonged to low, intermediate, and high risk groups, respectively. TT was found in 1(1.3%), 3(13%), and 11 (61%) patients of low, intermediate, and high risk groups, respectively. The NPV of the TWIST score for the low risk group was 98.5%, whereas the PPV of the TWIST score for the high risk group was 61.1%. Among the four patients with TT in low risk and intermediate risk groups, three patients presented to our institutions within 6 h after the onset. The torsion was 180° in two of the three patients. CONCLUSION: The TWIST score can be useful for clinical diagnosis of testicular torsion, but is inferior to clinical findings along with CDUS. We should consider the possibility that a TWIST score could be underestimated when patients present with acute scrotum immediately after onset or the affected testis is mildly twisted.

Body Fat Area as a Predictive Marker of New-Onset Diabetes Mellitus After Kidney Transplantation.

BACKGROUND: New-onset diabetes after kidney transplantation (NODAT) adversely affects patient survival. Excessive fat accumulation is generally considered a risk factor of NODAT. Body mass index (BMI) and abdominal circumference (AC) are frequently used to assess fat accumulation but cannot directly measure it. This study measured body fat area (BFA) via computed tomography and aimed to clarify whether preoperative BFA can predict the development of NODAT more accurately than BMI and AC. METHODS: This retrospective study included 62 patients without diabetes mellitus who received living-donor kidney transplantation at our institute between July 2005 and April 2016. We investigated the association between preoperative BMI, AC, and BFA and the development of NODAT. RESULTS: Eight patients (12.9%) developed NODAT during a mean follow-up period of 78.1 months. The preoperative BMI, AC, and BFA were markedly higher in NODAT patients than in patients without NODAT (P = .05, P = .02, P < .01, respectively). Correlation analyses revealed that BFA had a strong relationship with BMI (r = 0.68, P < .01) and AC (r = 0.77, P < .01). Receiver operating characteristic curve analyses demonstrated that BFA, compared to BMI and AC, had considerable predictive accuracy for the development of NODAT, with an area under the curve of 0.803 (sensitivity 75%, specificity 87%). CONCLUSIONS: Preoperative BFA could be a predictive marker of NODAT in renal graft recipients. Our findings underline the importance of routine preoperative BFA measurements in clinical practice.

Peritoneal Tuberculosis After Robot-Assisted Laparoscopic Prostatectomy with Extended Lymph Node Dissection.

Background: Peritoneal tuberculosis (TB) is a relatively uncommon presentation of extrapulmonary TB. Early diagnosis of peritoneal TB is difficult because of its nonspecific clinical manifestation such as abdominal pain, fever, or ascites. Especially early after surgery of abdomen or pelvis, these symptoms can be misdiagnosed as septic peritonitis. There are few reports of peritoneal TB as a postoperative complication of laparoscopic surgery. Here, we describe a first case of peritoneal TB after robot-assisted laparoscopic prostatectomy (RALP) with extended lymph node dissection. Case Presentation: A 78-year-old man presented 25 days after this surgery with fever and abdominal distension. Ultrasonography and computed tomography (CT) revealed massive abdominal ascites. Ascites sample was cloudy, with increased white blood cells and normal creatinine level. No anastomotic leak was found. Bacterial infection of a lymphocele was considered, and cefmetazole 2 g/day for 3 days was prescribed. Despite antibacterial therapy, fever persisted. Polymerase chain reaction testing of ascitic fluid was positive for Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The patient was effectively treated with anti-TB therapy. Conclusion: This is the first report of peritoneal TB as a postoperative complication of RALP with extended lymph node dissection. His preoperative chest CT showed granular shadows in left upper lung, indicating his old asymptomatic TB infection. Flare-up of TB can happen even after robot-assisted laparoscopic surgery, which is minimally invasive. Peritoneal TB must be considered especially when there is unexplained ascites unresponsive to antibiotics.