Concealed Penis after Circumcision: Is It Beneficial in Lowering Uropathogenic Colonization in Penile Skin and Preventing Recurrence of Febrile Urinary Tract Infections?

PURPOSE: To  discuss  whether  concealed  penis  after  circumcision  lowers  perimeatal  urethral  and  glanular  sulcus  uropathogenic  bacterial  colonization  in  healthy  boys  with  no  urinary  tract  problems  and  prevents  attacks  of  febrile  urinary  tract  infections  in  non-healthy  boys  with  defined  urinary  tract  abnormalities.  Materials and Methods:  This  case-control  study  was  conducted  in  Ibn-i  Sina  Hospital  and  retrospectively  collected  data  of   471 boys  were  analyzed.  All  patients  were  scanned  for  any  urinary  tract  abnormality  and  those  with  any  defined  abnormalities  were  classified  as  non-healthy  group. (123 patients)  Non-healthy  patients  were  divided  into  two  subgroups  as  concealed  (n:31)  and  non-concealed  (n:92)  penis  after  circumcision.  Healthy  patients  with  no  urinary  problems  were  divided  into  three  groups  as  circumcised  without  concealed  penis  (n:144),  with  concealed  penis  after  circumcision  (n:104)  and  uncircumcised  control  group  (n:100).  Bacterial  cultures  were  obtained  from  both  periurethral  meatal  and  glanular  sulcus  areas  by  adhering  strictly  to  the  rules  of  obtaining  bacterial  culture  to  avoid  false-positive  or  negative  culture  results.  Also  only  uropathogenic  bacterias  were  evaluated,  irrelevant  results  were  excluded.     Results:  Mean  age  was  similar  in  healthy  population.  Comparison  of  three  groups  showed  that  there  was  a  significant  difference  in  both  cultures.(P = .026 for periurethral meatal region, P = .039 for glanular sulcus region)  In  post  hoc  analysis,  non-concealed  group  had  a  lower  rate  of  culture  positivity  in  both  areas  compared  to  other  groups.    Mean  age  was  also  similar  in  non-healthy  population.  Mean  follow-up  period  was  18.2  months.  Patients  with  concealed  penis  after  circumcision  had  a  significantly  higher  number  of  febrile  UTI  attacks  (20 attacks in 8 patients vs 7 attacks in 5 patients)  compared  to  non-concealed  group. (P = .019)  All  febrile  UTI  attacks  except  one  in  this  group  occurred  below  the  age  of  12  months. A  total  of  10 patients  in  both  healthy  and  non-healthy  groups  had  postoperative  hemorrhage  after  circumcision  and  only  1  patient  had  a  wound  infection.          Conclusion:  Concealed  penis  after  circumcision  does  not  lower  perimeatal  urethral  and  glanular  sulcus  uropathogenic  bacterial  colonization  in  healthy  patients  and does not  protect  unhealthy  patients  from  febrile  urinary  tract  infection  attacks.  If  circumcision  is  planned,  concealed  penis  should  be  avoided  and  also  parents  should  be  informed  about  the  possible  risks  due  to  concealed  penis  before  the  procedure,  particularly  in  patients  with  urinary  tract  abnormalities.

Clinical comparison of intravesical hyaluronic acid and chondroitin sulfate therapies in the treatment of bladder pain syndrome/interstitial cystitis.

INTRODUCTION: Intravesical glucosaminoglycan (GAG) replacement therapies are commonly used in the treatment of bladder pain syndrome (BPS)/interstitial cystitis (IC). Different intravesical glucosaminoglycan products are currently available. In this prospective study, clinical efficacy of chondroitin sulfate and hyaluronic acid are compared in patients with BPS/IC. METHODS: Patients were randomized to CS and HA groups. All patients were evaluated for visual analogue pain scale (VAS), interstitial cystitis symptom index (ICSI), interstitial cystitis problem index (ICPI), voiding diary for frequency/nocturia, and mean urine volume per void at the beginning of the therapy and after 6 months. All patients had a potassium sensitivity test (PST) initially. Wilcoxon and Mann-Whitney U tests were used for statistical analysis. RESULTS: There were 21 patients in both groups. Mean age of patients in CS and HA groups were 47.10 and 48.90, respectively(P > 0.05). Before treatment, Parson's test was positive in 64.3% of patients (27/42) with no difference between groups. VAS of pain, ICSI, ICPI, frequency at 24 h and nocturia results have improved significantly at both treatment arms. Intravesical CS was also found superior to intravesical HA in terms of 24 h frequency, nocturia and ICPI (P < 0.05). No severe adverse effects were reported. CONCLUSIONS: Data comparing clinical efficiencies of different GAG therapies are very limited. In this study, intravesical CS was found superior to intravesical HA in terms of 24 h frequency, nocturia and ICPI in patients with BPS/IC in short term follow-up. To provide a definitive conclusion on superiority of one GAG therapy to others, further evaluation with long term follow up is required.

Can the success of structured therapy for giggle incontinence be predicted?

INTRODUCTION: To evaluate possible factors that can guide the clinician to predict potential cases refractoriness to medical treatment for giggle incontinence (GI) and to examine the effectiveness of different treatment modalities. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The data of 48 children referred to pediatric urology outpatient clinic between 2000 and 2013 diagnosed as GI were reviewed. Mean age, follow-up, GI frequency, associated symptoms, medical and family history were noted. Incontinence frequency differed between several per day to less than once weekly. Children were evaluated with uroflowmetry-electromyography and post-void residual urine. Clinical success was characterized as a full or partial response, or nonresponse as defined by the International Children's Continence Society. Univariate analysis was used to find potential factors including age, sex, familial history, GI frequency, treatment modality and dysfunctional voiding to predict children who would possibly not respond to treatment. RESULTS: Mean age of the patients was 8.4 years (range 5 to 16). Mean follow-up time and mean duration of asymptomatic period were noted as 6.7±1.4 years and 14.2±2.3 months respectively. While 12 patients were treated with only behavioral urotherapy (Group-1), 11 patients were treated with alpha-adrenergic blockers and behavioral urotherapy (Group-2) and 18 patients with methylphenidate and behavioral urotherapy (Group-3). Giggle incontinence was refractory to eight children in-group 1; six children in-group 2 and eight children in-group 3. Daily GI frequency and dysfunctional voiding diagnosed on uroflowmetry-EMG were found as outstanding predictive factors for resistance to treatment modalities. CONCLUSIONS: A variety of therapies for GI have more than 50% failure rate and a standard treatment for GI has not been established. The use of medications to treat these patients would not be recommended, as they appear to add no benefit to symptoms and may introduce severe adverse effects.

Can the success of structured therapy for giggle incontinence be predicted?

ABSTRACT Introduction: To evaluate possible factors that can guide the clinician to predict potential cases refractoriness to medical treatment for giggle incontinence (GI) and to examine the effectiveness of different treatment modalities. Material and methods: The data of 48 children referred to pediatric urology outpatient clinic between 2000 and 2013 diagnosed as GI were reviewed. Mean age, follow-up, GI frequency, associated symptoms, medical and family history were noted. Incontinence frequency differed between several per day to less than once weekly. Children were evaluated with uroflowmetry-electromyography and post-void residual urine. Clinical success was characterized as a full or partial response, or nonresponse as defined by the International Children's Continence Society. Univariate analysis was used to find potential factors including age, sex, familial history, GI frequency, treatment modality and dysfunctional voiding to predict children who would possibly not respond to treatment. Results: Mean age of the patients was 8.4 years (range 5 to 16). Mean follow-up time and mean duration of asymptomatic period were noted as 6.7±1.4 years and 14.2±2.3 months respectively. While 12 patients were treated with only behavioral urotherapy (Group-1), 11 patients were treated with alpha-adrenergic blockers and behavioral urotherapy (Group-2) and 18 patients with methylphenidate and behavioral urotherapy (Group-3). Giggle incontinence was refractory to eight children in-group 1; six children in-group 2 and eight children in-group 3. Daily GI frequency and dysfunctional voiding diagnosed on uroflowmetry-EMG were found as outstanding predictive factors for resistance to treatment modalities. Conclusions: A variety of therapies for GI have more than 50% failure rate and a standard treatment for GI has not been established. The use of medications to treat these patients would not be recommended, as they appear to add no benefit to symptoms and may introduce severe adverse effects.

Clinical comparision of intravesical hyaluronic acid and hyaluronic acid-chondroitin sulphate therapy for patients with bladder pain syndrome/interstitital cystitis.

INTRODUCTION: Patients with a history of bladder pain syndrome/interstitial cystitis (BPS/IC) and who responded poorly or unsatisfactorily with previous treatment were compared taking intravesical hyaluronic acid (HA) or hyaluronic acid-chondroitin sulphate (HA-CS). METHODS: Patients were treated with intravesical instillation with 50 mL sterile sodium hyalurinic acid (Hyacyst, Syner-Med, Surrey, UK) (n = 32) and sodium hyaluronate 1.6% sodium chondroitin sulphate 2% (Ialuril, Aspire Pharma, UK) (n = 33). Intravesical instillations were performed weekly in first month, every 15 days in the second month and monthly in third and fourth months, for a total of 8 doses. Patients were evaluated using a visual analog pain scale (VAS), interstitial cystitis symptom index (ICSI), interstitial cystitis problem index (ICPI), voiding diary for frequency/nocturia, cystometric bladder capacity and voided volume at the beginning and at 6 months. All patients had a potassium sensitivity test (PST) initially. Wilcoxon and Mann-Whitney U tests were used for statistical analysis. RESULTS: In total, 53 patients met the study criteria. There were 30 patients in the HA-CS group (mean age: 48.47) and 23 patients in the HA group (mean age: 49.61) (p > 0.05). The initial PST was positive in 71.7% patients (38/53) overall with no difference between groups (p > 0.05). Responses for VAS, ICCS, ICPS, 24-hour frequency/nocturia statistically improved in both groups at 6 months. There was no significant difference in symptomatic improvement (p > 0.05). Eight patients had mild adverse events. CONCLUSION: HA and HA/CS instillation can be effective in BPS/IC patients who do not respond to conservative treatment. An important limitation of our study is that the HA dosage of the 2 treatment arms were different. It would be more appropriate with same HA dosage in both groups; however, there was no commercially available glycosaminoglycan (GAG) substance with same HA dosage for single and combination therapy. Large, long-term randomized studies are required to determine if there is a difference between these treatments.

Effect of type 2 diabetes mellitus on prognosis of nonmetastatic renal cell cancer.

PURPOSE: We evaluated the prognostic value of type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) in patients treated surgically for localized renal cell carcinoma (RCC). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Between 1995 and 2011, 588 patients with renal tumor diagnoses were treated surgically and 492 patients with pathologically confirmed nonmetastatic RCC diagnoses were included in the study. The associations of clinical and pathologic parameters with a type 2 DM diagnosis were evaluated. Kaplan-Meier estimations for disease-specific survival (DSS) and overall survival (OS) were generated according to type 2 DM diagnosis, and the log-rank test was used to compare survival according to the variables. RESULTS: The mean age of the patients was 56.7±12 years (range, 15 to 84 years; median, 58 years) and the mean length of follow-up was 35.9±28 months (range, 1 to 145 months; median, 34.3 months). Of the 492 patients, 62 (12.6%) had a diagnosis of DM at the time of surgery (group I) and 430 did not have DM (group II). The mean age and the incidence of clear cell RCC histological subtype were significantly higher in group I than in group II (p<0.001 and p=0.036, respectively). Although DSS and OS were lower in group I, this difference was not significant. Type 2 DM was not detected as an independent prognostic factor for DSS and OS. CONCLUSIONS: This study investigated the role and effect of DM on the prognosis of localized RCC that was treated surgically. The present study did not detect DM as an independent prognostic factor for RCC.