Urgent nephrectomy for rapidly progressive disseminated metastatic Hypermucoid Klebsiella.

Few cases of Hypervirulent Klebsiella Pneumonia (HvKP) have been described. Even fewer cases with renal abscess and metastatic pulmonary spread are reported. Typically, prompt introduction of intravenous antibiotics leads to clinical resolution and more invasive measures of source control are rarely required. To date only one other case of disseminated metastatic HvKP requiring nephrectomy for infective source control is described. Here we present a rare case of metastatic HvKP refractory to intravenous antimicrobial therapy in an immunocompromised newly diagnosed diabetic patient. Specifically, we seek to illustrate the rapid effectiveness of surgical intervention following a poor response to initial treatment.

Long-term oncological outcomes of the Agarwal loop-ligation technique for management of the distal ureter during laparoscopic radical nephroureterectomy.

OBJECTIVES: To describe the Agarwal loop-ligation technique for the management of the distal ureter during laparoscopic radical nephroureterectomy (LRNU) for upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC) and report on long-term oncological outcomes. PATIENTS AND METHODS: In the Agarwal loop-ligation technique, the distal ureteric stump is controlled using endoscopic Endoloop® or PolyLoop® ligation to ensure en bloc excision of the bladder cuff and prevent spillage of upper tract urine into the perivesical space. A retrospective review of the medical records of 76 patients who underwent the Agarwal loop-ligation technique for UTUC at participating centres from July 2004 to December 2017 was performed. Data collected included demographics, perioperative, and long-term oncological outcomes. Survival was calculated using Kaplan-Meier survival analyses. RESULTS AND LIMITATIONS: A total of 76 patients were included. The median age was 71.5 years and median operative time was 4.3 h. The intramural ureter and bladder cuff were completely excised in all patients. Distal surgical margins were clear in all, with only two patients found to have tumour extending to the circumferential surgical margin. There were no cases of perivesical recurrence or port-site metastasis. The 5-year bladder, local, and contralateral recurrence-free survival was 59.6%, 89.0% and 93.5%, respectively. Metastasis-free survival at 5-years was 73.5%. The 5-year overall survival and cancer-specific survival rates were 70.3% and 84.7%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: We have described the Agarwal loop-ligation technique for the management of the distal ureter in LRNU. This technique complies with oncological principles outlined in the European Association of Urology guidelines, which minimises tumour spillage. Long-term oncological outcomes are satisfactory, with no cases of perivesical recurrence detected in this series.

Comparative sensitivity and specificity of imaging modalities in staging bladder cancer prior to radical cystectomy: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

PURPOSE: The detection of lymph node metastases in bladder cancer has a significant impact on treatment decisions. Multiple imaging modalities are available to clinicians including magnetic resonance imaging, computed tomography and positron emission tomography. We aimed to investigate the utility of alternate imaging modalities on pre-cystectomy imaging in bladder cancer for the detection of lymph node metastases. METHODS: We performed systematic search of Web of Science (including MEDLINE), EMBASE and Cochrane libraries in accordance with the PRISMA statement. Studies comparing lymph node imaging findings with final histopathology were included in our analysis. Sensitivity and specificity data were quantified using patient-based analysis. A true positive was defined as a node-positive patient on imaging and node positive on histopathology. Meta-analysis of studies was performed using a mixed-effects, hierarchical logistic regression model. RESULTS: Our systematic search identified 35 articles suitable for inclusion. MRI and PET have a higher sensitivity than CT while the specificity of all modalities was similar. The summary MRI sensitivity = 0.60 (95% CI 0.44-0.74) and specificity = 0.91 (95% CI 0.82-0.96). Summary PET/CT sensitivity = 0.56 (95% CI 0.49-0.63) and specificity = 0.92 (95% CI 0.86-0.95). Summary CT sensitivity = 0.40 (95% CI 0.33-0.49) and specificity = 0.92 (95% CI 0.86-0.95). CONCLUSION: MRI and PET/CT provides superior sensitivity compared to CT for detection of positive lymph nodes in bladder cancer prior to cystectomy. There is variability in the accuracy that current imaging modalities achieve across different studies. A number of other factors impact on detection accuracy and these must be considered.

Pelvic lymph node dissection during radical cystectomy for muscle-invasive bladder cancer.

Radical cystectomy is the gold-standard treatment option for muscle-invasive and metastatic bladder cancer. At the time of cystectomy, up to 25% of patients harbour metastatic lymph node deposits. These deposits most frequently occur in the obturator fossa, but can be as proximal as the interaortocaval region. Thus, the use of concurrent pelvic lymph node dissection (PLND) with cystectomy has been increasingly reported. Data from studies including many patients suggest substantial oncological benefit in PLND cohorts versus non-PLND cohorts, irrespective of pathological nodal status. Additionally, PLND provides useful prognostic information, including disease burden, lymph node density, and extracapsular extension of metastatic lymph nodes. Accordingly, the National Comprehensive Cancer Network guidelines advocate the use of PLND during radical cystectomy for muscle-invasive bladder cancer. Despite this recommendation, a lack of consensus exists regarding the optimal PLND template. Comparative series suggest that extended PLND provides improved recurrence-free survival and cancer-specific survival compared with more limited PLND templates. More extensive templates (such as super-extended PLND) provide no additional survival benefit at the potential cost of increased operative time and patient morbidity. In addition to extended PLND templates, increased nodal harvest confers an oncological benefit in patients with node-positive disease or in patients with node-negative disease. Accordingly, recommendations for a minimum nodal yield have been proposed. Despite the growing body of evidence, formal recommendations by oncological and urological authoritative bodies have been limited owing to the lack of randomized data and level I evidence.

Randomized trial of laparoscopic cholecystectomy procedure-specific consent form.

BACKGROUND: Prior to all surgical procedures, possible risks are outlined to patients during an informed consent discussion, and they are invited to ask questions. Written consent records this discussion and signals a patient's willingness to proceed with surgery. This study aims to improve the documentation of complications discussed during laparoscopic cholecystectomy consent through the introduction of a procedure-specific consent form. METHODS: Phase 1 included a retrospective analysis of possible complications documented on standard consent forms for laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Phase 2 was a prospective randomized comparison of existing standard consent forms versus procedure-specific consent forms measuring the documentation of significant complications as identified from the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons brochure for laparoscopic cholecystectomy. These include bile duct injury, bile leak, bleeding, infection, conversion and damage to other organs. The proportion of participants in each cohort with the documentation of specific complications was assessed using the two-sample test of differences in proportions. RESULTS: Phase 1 of the study found that the possible risk of bleeding was documented in 82.1% of cases, while damage to other organs was only documented in 7.7%. Phase 2 of the study showed significant improvements in the documentation of specific complications for both standard and procedure-specific consent cohorts; 76.5% of participants in the procedure-specific consent cohort had all complications documented, while no participants in the phase 1 cohort had all complications documented. CONCLUSION: Introduction of a procedure-specific consent form for laparoscopic cholecystectomy has improved the documentation of a standard set of complications.

Lymph node yield in node-negative patients predicts cancer specific survival following radical cystectomy for transitional cell carcinoma.

Purpose: To determine the oncological implications of increased nodal dissection in node-negative bladder cancer during radical cystectomy in a contemporary Australian series. Materials and Methods: We performed a multicenter retrospective study, including more than 40 surgeons across 5 sites over a 10-year period. We identified 353 patients with primary bladder cancer undergoing radical cystectomy. Extent of lymphadenectomy was defined as follows; limited pelvic lymph node dissection (PLND) (perivesical, pelvic, and obturator), standard PLND (internal and external iliac) and extended PLND (common iliac). Multivariable cox proportional hazards and logistic regression models were used to determine LNY effect on cancer-specific survival. Results: Over the study period, the extent of dissection and lymph node yield increased considerably. In node-negative patients, lymph node yield (LNY) conferred a significantly improved cancer-specific survival. Compared to cases where LNY of 1 to 5 nodes were taken, the hazard ratio (HR) for 6 to 15 nodes harvested was 0.78 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.43-1.39) and for greater than 15 nodes the HR was 0.31 (95% CI, 0.17-0.57), adjusted for age, sex, T stage, margin status, and year of surgery. The predicted probability of cancer-specific death within 2 years of cystectomy was 16% (95% CI, 13%-19%) with 10 nodes harvested, falling to 5.5% (95% CI, 0%-12%) with 30 nodes taken. Increasing harvest in all PLND templates conferred a survival benefit. Conclusions: The findings of the current study highlight the improved oncological outcomes with increased LNY, irrespective of the dissection template. Further prospective research is needed to aid LND data interpretation.

Rapid determination of hydrodynamic radii beyond the limits of Taylor dispersion.

Taylor dispersion analysis (TDA) is an absolute method for determining the diffusion coefficients, and hence the hydrodynamic radii, of particles by measuring the dispersion in a carrier medium flowing within a capillary. It is applicable under conditions which allow the particles to radially diffuse appreciably across the cross-section of the flow before the measurement and therefore implies long measurement times are required for large particles with small diffusion coefficients. In this paper, a method has been developed by which the diffusion coefficients of large particles can be rapidly estimated from the shapes of the concentration profiles obtained at much earlier measurement times. The method relies on the fact that the shapes of the early-time concentration profiles are dependent on the diffusion coefficient, flow rate and the capillary radius through the dimensionless residence time which, theoretically, is a measure of the amount of radial diffusion undergone by the particles. The amount of radial diffusion for nanospheres of varying sizes was estimated by quantifying the relative change in the shapes of concentration profiles obtained at two points in the flow and a correlation was obtained with the variation of the dimensionless residence time to confirm the theory. This correlation was then tested by applying it to another set of measurements of solutes and solute mixtures of different sizes including a protein. The estimated diffusion coefficients were found to be in good agreement with the expected values. This demonstrates the potential for the method to extend dispersion analysis to regimes well outside the TDA limits to enable the rapid characterization of large particles.

Taking the STING Out of Ureteral Obstruction.

Vesicoureteral reflux (VUR) is diagnosed in ∼1% of children. The main goal of treatment is preservation of renal function by preventing recurrent urinary tract infection (UTI) refractory to antibiotic therapy. Surgical treatment options include endoscopic injection or ureteral reimplantation. Subureteral Teflon (polytetrafluoroethylene) injection (STING) is an endoscopic treatment option no longer in common practice. Use of Teflon is no longer advised because of a number of documented complications secondary to local and distant migration of injected material. We present a case of delayed ureteral obstruction secondary to the STING procedure occurring 21 years after initial surgery and managed using a novel endoscopic method.

Understanding the role of new systemic agents in the treatment of prostate cancer.

OBJECTIVES: To examine the current literature and identify key consensus findings from the available studies to better educate urologists and medical oncologists on agents used in the treatment of metastatic prostate cancer (mPC). METHODS: Following PRISMA guidelines, we conducted a systematic review of the available literature on reported trials of systemic therapies for mPC. Two search terms were used: 'metastatic prostate cancer' and 'treatment'. RESULTS: A variety of agents have demonstrated improved overall survival in patients with mPC. Twenty recently documented trials were reported in the literature with a focus on enzalutamide, abiraterone acetate, docetaxel and other newer agents. These studies were grouped based on patient populations. CONCLUSION: The increasing number of high-quality clinical trials, with overlapping patient populations has made defining the correct therapy for men with mPC challenging for urologists and medical oncologists. The data suggests that the optimal sequence of drugs is not only unknown but also not necessarily the same for each patient. As such, we suggest a more individualized approach to the treatment of prostate cancer depending on patient and disease factors.

A Systematic Review of Ileal Conduit and Neobladder Outcomes in Primary Bladder Cancer.

Treatment for muscle invasive bladder cancer with curative intent includes radical cystectomy and urinary diversion. Using PRISMA guidelines, we conducted a systematic review assessing differences in patient selection, operative parameters, complications, and quality of life between ileal conduit and neobladder cohorts. Ileal conduit cohorts have more advanced age and disease, more comorbidities and complications, and poorer quality of life. Ileal conduit surgery is associated with adverse patient selection that inhibits reasonable comparison of outcomes with neobladder cohorts. Despite this, we observe longer operative times and hospital stays in neobladder cohorts, perhaps reflecting greater technical difficulty and the need for postoperative bladder training.

Failed validation of risk prediction model for intervention in renal colic patients after emergency department evaluation.

BACKGROUND: It has been reported that three criteria (size of calculus ≥6 mm, visual analogue scale pain score at discharge ≥2 cm and location above mid-ureter; the Papa criteria) were sensitive for predicting patients who require intervention (surgery or lithotripsy) within 28 days of index emergency department (ED) visit for ureteric colic. It was suggested that absence of these criteria identified a group for whom early follow-up may not be needed. No validation has been reported. We aimed to validate these criteria. METHODS: Retrospective cohort study of patients with clinical presentation of ureteric colic and radiologically proven renal tract stones. Data collected included demographics, clinical features, features of the stone, imaging results and 28-day outcome. Outcome of interest was performance of the Papa criteria for prediction of urological intervention by clinical performance analysis. We also undertook a post hoc analysis to identify predictors of urological intervention for the group overall and for the subgroup discharged from ED. RESULTS: Two hundred and twenty-four patients were studied (median age 49, 79% male) with 75 (33%) requiring urological intervention within 28 days. The presence of any of the Papa criteria had sensitivity for urological intervention of 83.9% (95% confidence interval (CI) 71.2-91.9%) with specificity of 47.7% (95% CI 38.9-56.6%), positive predictive value of 40.9% (95% CI 31.9-50.4%) and negative predictive value of 87.3% (95% CI 76.8-93.7%). Nine patients with no Papa criteria had intervention: 12.7% (95% CI 6.8-22.4%). CONCLUSION: The Papa criteria are not sufficiently accurate to determine which patients require intervention or a subgroup who do not need specialist urological follow-up.

Utility of lymphadenectomy following cystectomy for non-urothelial bladder cancer: a systematic review.

INTRODUCTION: Non-urothelial bladder cancer patients represent a rare and challenging group. Advances in bladder cancer to date have largely been driven by studies investigating common urothelial bladder tumors. New evidence is emerging supporting lymphadenectomy in standard surgical management of muscle invasive bladder cancer. We aim to explore the utility of lymphadenectomy in non-urothelial bladder cancer. EVIDENCE ACQUISITION: A systematic review of the available peer-reviewed literature on PubMed was performed using a PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) search strategy. Tumors included in our analysis were squamous cell carcinomas, adenocarcinomas, paragangliomas, melanomas and sarcomas. EVIDENCE SYNTHESIS: Our search strategy identified 8168 unique records and we included 135 full text articles in our final qualitative analysis. No comparative studies comparing lymphadenectomy outcomes in non-urothelial bladder tumors were identified. Practice of lymphadenectomy in combination with partial or radical cystectomy in the treatment of non-urothelial bladder cancer is relatively common. Pelvic recurrence following radical or partial cystectomy of non-urothelial tumors was more commonly reported in non-lymphadenectomy cohorts. The exception to this observation was the adenocarcinoma cohort. CONCLUSIONS: Current evidence supporting lymphadenectomy in the surgical management of bladder cancer is largely based on studies limited to urothelial cancer. Despite this, the practice of lymphadenectomy in non-urothelial cancer is common. We support lymphadenectomy in non-urothelial bladder cancer given the minimal risk associated with the procedure and the potential for improved survival.

Changing practice of pelvic lymph node dissection in management of primary bladder cancer.

BACKGROUND: Surgical management of bladder cancer has seen a significant period of change over the last decade. This has largely been driven by recognition of the importance of pelvic lymph node dissection (PLND) - yet debate still continues regarding the extent of dissection required. Our aim was to ascertain how the practice of PLND has evolved over the last decade in the setting of bladder cancer and cystectomy at a tertiary referral centre. METHODS: Analysis of a retrospectively collected database including all cystectomies conducted at a tertiary centre in the last 10 years. Cases of non-primary bladder cancer were excluded. Histopathology records were scanned for data regarding PLND. Extent of PLND was defined according to levels. These were numbered level 1 (perivesical, pelvic and obturator), level 2 (internal and external iliac) and level 3 (common iliac). Trends in extent of dissection and number of nodes harvested were assessed. RESULTS: One hundred and thirty cases of primary bladder cancer undergoing cystectomy were identified. Dissection to level 3 has increased from zero cases in 2005-2008 to 40% of cases in 2013-2015. We have seen a corresponding rise in number of lymph nodes collected. Increasing extent of dissection has improved staging by identifying positive nodes that would otherwise be missed. CONCLUSIONS: The extent of PLND has increased over time. The current standard template at our institution includes a bilateral dissection of perivesical, obturator, internal iliac, external iliac and common iliac LN. This change has resulted in more accurate staging and increased total lymph node yield.