Outcomes of reduction cystoplasty in men with impaired detrusor contractility.

OBJECTIVE: To report surgical outcomes in patients with impaired detrusor contractility (IDC) treated with reduction cystoplasty (RC). METHODS: This was a retrospective study of consecutive patients with IDC who underwent RC. IDC was defined as a bladder contractility index of <100 and/or a detrusor contraction of insufficient duration resulting in a postvoid residual volume (PVR) >600 mL. Bladder outlet obstruction was defined by a bladder outlet obstruction index (BOOI) >40. All patients had preoperative International Prostate Symptom Score, maximum uroflow (Qmax), PVR, bladder diary, videourodynamics, and cystoscopy. Patients with prostatic obstruction underwent synchronous open prostatectomy. Postoperative Qmax, PVR, need for clean intermittent catheterization (CIC), and Patient Global Impression of Improvement (PGII) score were obtained. Follow-up was at 3 months, 1 year, and yearly thereafter. RESULTS: Eight men met inclusion criteria (mean age, 60; range, 43-75 years). Preoperatively, 3 of 8 patients (37.5%) had moderate-sized bladder diverticula, 4 of 8 (50%) had a bladder contractility index <100, and 6 of 8 (75%) had a BOOI <40. Two patients (25%) fulfilled criteria for bladder outlet obstruction (BOOI, 67 and 72). Three (37.5%) underwent synchronous bladder diverticulectomy, and 3 (37.5%) underwent suprapubic prostatectomy. All patients were available for follow-up at 1 year. Seven of 8 (88%) had a successful outcome (PGII ≤2). One patient was unchanged (PGII, 4) and still needed CIC. CONCLUSION: All but 1 patient who met specific criteria for RC had excellent outcomes after surgery based on the PGII, PVR, Qmax, and need for CIC. RC is a viable option for properly selected patients with IDC.

Endoscopic spray cryotherapy for genitourinary malignancies: safety and efficacy in a porcine model.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the effects and safety of using endoscopic spray cryotherapy (ESC) on bladder, ureteral, and renal pelvis urothelium in a live porcine model. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: ESC treatments were systematically applied to urothelial sites in the bladder, ureter, and renal pelvis of eight female Yorkshire swine in a prospective trial. Freeze-thaw cycles ranged from 5 to 60 s/cycle for one to six cycles using a 7 French cryotherapy catheter. Tissue was evaluated histologically for treatment-related effects. Acute physiologic effects were evaluated with pulse oximetry, Doppler sonography, and postmortem findings. RESULTS: In bladder, treatment depth was inconsistent regardless of dose, demonstrating urothelial necrosis in one, muscularis propria depth necrosis in two, and full thickness necrosis in all remaining samples. In ureter, full thickness necrosis was seen in all samples, even with the shortest spray duration (5 s/cycle for six cycles or 30 s/cycle for one cycle). Treatment to the renal pelvis was complicated by adiabatic gas expansion of liquid nitrogen to its gaseous state, resulting in high intraluminal pressures requiring venting to avoid organ perforation, even at the lowest treatment settings. At a planned dose of 5 s/cycle for six cycles of the first renal pelvis animal, treatment was interrupted by sudden and unrecoverable cardiopulmonary failure after three cycles. Repeated studies replicated this event. Ultrasound and immediate necropsy confirmed the creation of a large gaseous embolism and reproducible cardiopulmonary effects. CONCLUSION: ESC in a porcine urothelial treatment model results in full-thickness tissue necrosis in bladder, ureter, and renal pelvis at a minimal treatment settings of 5 s/cycle for six cycles. Adiabatic gas expansion may result in fatal pyelovenous gas embolism and collateral organ injury, as seen in both animals receiving treatment to the renal pelvis in this study. These results raise safety concerns for use of ESC as a treatment modality in urothelial tissues with current device settings.

Intraoperative mannitol use does not improve long-term renal function outcomes after minimally invasive partial nephrectomy.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate intravenous mannitol during minimally invasive partial nephrectomy (PN) by comparing the renal function outcomes of the patients who received it versus those who did not. METHODS: Of 285 consecutive elective minimally invasive PN cases from February 2005 to July 2010, 164 patients (58%) were treated with mannitol. We compared the renal function recovery using a multivariate generalized estimating equation linear model of estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) controlling for nephrometry complexity, preoperative eGFR, American Society of Anesthesiologists score, ischemia time, estimated blood loss, age, and sex. Sensitivity analyses were performed to adjust for cold ischemia and individual surgeon differences corrected for year of surgery. RESULTS: Of the 285 patients who underwent minimally invasive treatment, 164 received mannitol and 121 did not. Those who received mannitol had a better preoperative eGFR (median 72 vs 69 mL/min/m(2), P = .046), less complex nephrometry scores (P = 0.051), and were less likely to have an American Society of Anesthesiologists score of ≥ 3 (42% vs 54%, P = .005). Renal function recovery was similar in both groups (estimated effect of mannitol -0.7 mL/min/m(2), 95% confidence interval -3.6-2.2, P = .6). At no point in the postoperative period did mannitol make a significant difference in the eGFR according to the generalized estimating equation model after adjusting for multiple potential renal function confounders. CONCLUSION: Mannitol use did not influence renal function recovery within 6 months of minimally invasive PN as measured by the eGFR in our analysis. An appropriately designed prospective study of mannitol is being conducted to validate its use during PN.

Optimizing prostate cancer detection during biopsy by standardizing the amount of tissue examined per core.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect on cancer detection by varying the number of cores taken for prostate biopsy according to the size of the prostate. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A retrospective review of a prospectively registered prostate biopsy database identified 3040 consecutive patients undergoing prostate biopsy at a Veterans Administration Hospital between 1994 and 2008. Of 2224 biopsies, 681 (31%) were found to have cancer and 1540 (69%) had negative biopsies. Prostate volume to biopsy core ratios (volume/number of cores) were derived and a comparative analysis was performed to determine the impact on cancer detection rates. RESULTS: The median prostate volume was significantly smaller for those patients diagnosed with prostate cancer than for those with negative biopsies (33 vs 43 cc, P= 0.01). The median number of cores was the same for both groups of patients (median 12, P= 0.66). The median transrectal ultrasonography TRUS size/core ratio was 3.5 [interquartile range (IQR) 2.5] for patients with identified cancer as compared with 4.7 (IQR = 3.9) for those with negative biopsies (P= 0.000). On multivariable logistic regression analysis TRUS size/core ratio had a significant impact on cancer detection with a relative risk ratio of 1.29 (95% confidence interval, 1.1-1.5, P= 0.001) even when controlled for age, race, prostate volume, digital rectal examination and prostate-specific antigen level. CONCLUSIONS: Prostate cancer detection can be enhanced by individualizing the number of cores performed to a real-time prostate volume sampling. The present study emphasizes that optimal cancer detection rates were observed when a ratio of 3.5 cc per tissue core was achieved. Proper prospectively designed studies must be performed to further validate these findings.

Shock wave lithotripsy associated with greater prevalence of hypertension.

OBJECTIVES: To determine whether shock wave lithotripsy (SWL) increases the prevalence of hypertension (HTN) at intermediate follow-up. METHODS: All patients were treated with the Medstone STS electrohydraulic lithotripter, and the data were recorded prospectively in a centralized database. The data on the development of HTN after SWL was obtained from a questionnaire mailed to the patients who had undergone SWL from November 1999 and January 2002. Controls matched for age, sex, and body mass index were obtained from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, using the demographic, body measurements, medical conditions, and blood pressure data sets. Two sets of matching controls were used to compare the prevalence of HTN between our patients and the NHANES population at SWL and at the follow-up point. RESULTS: A total of 2041 patients responded to the questionnaire, with a median follow-up of 6 years. No statistically significant difference was found in the HTN prevalence between the patients and matched controls at SWL (26.7% vs 28.0%). At the follow-up point, the prevalence of HTN was greater in our patients (37.8%) than in the controls (32.5%, P=.0009). Of our patients, 15% have developed de novo HTN compared with the predicted rate of 6.25% from the matched controls. Male gender, age, and a greater body mass index were associated with the development of HTN, but none of the SWL parameters (number of shocks, bilateral vs unilateral, and multiple SWL sessions) were significantly associated with HTN. CONCLUSIONS: The results of our study have indicated a small, but significant, increase in the risk of developing HTN after SWL using a third-generation electrohydraulic lithotripter at intermediate follow-up.

Benign prostatic hyperplasia: symptoms, symptom scores, and outcome measures.

The approach to a patient with benign prostatic hyperplasia and lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) begins with a detailed history. The goal is to clearly identify the patient's urinary complaints, including frequency of micturition, urgency, urge incontinence, weak stream, the need to push or strain, hesitancy, intermittency, dysuria, and hematuria. Bladder diaries and symptom questionnaires are useful as adjuncts to information that is acquired in the history. The voiding diary is an essential part of the workup. The voiding diary differs from a simple frequency-volume chart in that it incorporates not only the frequency, voided volume, urge episodes, pad usage, and fluid intake but also the data related to patient activities. It allows patients to have a more thorough self-evaluation of their LUTS.

Transcriptional profiling of human cavernosal endothelial cells reveals distinctive cell adhesion phenotype and role for claudin 11 in vascular barrier function.

To determine specific molecular features of endothelial cells (ECs) relevant to the physiological process of penile erection we compared gene expression of human EC derived from corpus cavernosum of men with and without erectile dysfunction (HCCEC) to coronary artery (HCAEC) and umbilical vein (HUVEC) using Affymetrix GeneChip microarrays and GeneSifter software. Genes differentially expressed across samples were partitioned around medoids to identify genes with highest expression in HCCEC. A total of 190 genes/transcripts were highly expressed only in HCCEC. Gene Ontology classification indicated cavernosal enrichment in genes related to cell adhesion, extracellular matrix, pattern specification and organogenesis. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis showed high expression of genes relating to ECM-receptor interaction, focal adhesions, and cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction. Real-time PCR confirmed expression differences in cadherins 2 and 11, claudin 11 (CLDN11), desmoplakin, and versican. CLDN11, a component of tight junctions not previously described in ECs, was highly expressed only in HCCEC and its knockdown by siRNA significantly reduced transendothelial electrical resistance in HCCEC. Overall, cavernosal ECs exhibited a transcriptional profile encoding matrix and adhesion proteins that regulate structural and functional characteristics of blood vessels. Contribution of the tight junction protein CLDN11 to barrier function in endothelial cells is novel and may reflect hemodynamic requirements of the corpus cavernosum.

Shock wave lithotripsy not associated with development of diabetes mellitus at 6 years of follow-up.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the hypothesis that extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL) increases the incident risk of new-onset diabetes mellitus (DM). Studies have suggested that ESWL predisposes to DM. METHODS: Using a mail survey, we collected data on the presence and onset of DM in 1947 patients treated with the Medstone-STS electrohydraulic lithotripter from 1999 to 2002. These patients were matched by age, sex, and body mass index to controls from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) database. Of the 1947 patients, 4% could not be matched and were excluded, leaving 1869 for analysis, of whom 60.0% were men. The mean age was 51.9 years at ESWL and the median follow-up was 6 years. The mean body mass index at the end of the study was 28.6 kg/m(2). RESULTS: At ESWL, 8.67% of matched patients had a diagnosis of DM. This had increased to 13.9% at the time of survey. In the NHANES group, 8.34% had DM at the time the ESWL group underwent treatment, and this had increased to 14.1% at the NHANES survey. Therefore, the rate of new DM cases in the ESWL group was similar to that in the NHANES group (5.2% vs 5.8%, respectively; P = .47). Multivariate analysis of the patient cohort confirmed that age, sex, body mass index, and family history correlated with development of DM and that the laterality of treatment and number of treatments or shocks given were not significant predictors of DM. CONCLUSIONS: The results of our study have shown that patients treated with ESWL do not develop DM at a greater rate than does the general population at 6 years of follow-up.