Is Sigstad's score really capable of detecting post-surgical late dumping syndrome?

BACKGROUND: This clinical trial explores the Sigstad score for late dumping syndrome in postoperative patients who have undergone sleeve gastrectomy (SG) or One Anastomosis Gastric Bypass (OAGB). The aims of this study are to investigate the correlations with late dumping syndrome, to evaluate the reliability and validity of the Sigstad score and to discuss a modified scoring system. METHODS: The study was conducted at the Obesity Center of the Westküstenklinikum Heide and included 271 patients. Data collection involved conducting interviews, diet diaries and measuring blood glucose levels. Non-parametric tests, logistic regression and McDonald's Omega were the selected statistical approaches. RESULTS: Body Mass Index (BMI) decreased over time (-9.67 kg/m2 at 4 months, -15.58 kg/m2 at 12 months). Preoperatively, the Sigstad score exhibited the highest value, and no occurrences of late dumping syndrome were observed. No significant differences were found in BMI concerning late dumping syndrome or Sigstad score among postoperative patients. Postoperative patients experienced an increase in gastrointestinal symptoms. The reliability test showed a McDonald's omega value of 0.509. The analysis conducted through binary logistic regression indicated dizziness as a significant predictor of late dumping syndrome; however, this finding did not hold up after performing Bonferroni correction. CONCLUSION: The Sigstad score is not a reliable or valid method for detecting late dumping syndrome after surgery for obesity and metabolic disorders. It is necessary to have alternatives that use objective measures and assess the quality of life, and that these alternatives be validated in large patient cohorts.

Real-World Evidence of Triplet Therapy in Metastatic Hormone-Sensitive Prostate Cancer: An Austrian Multicenter Study.

INTRODUCTION: Two randomized trials demonstrated a survival benefit of triplet therapy (androgen deprivation therapy [ADT]) plus androgen receptor pathway inhibitor [ARPI] plus docetaxel) over doublet therapy (ADT plus docetaxel), thus changing treatment strategies in metastatic hormonesensitive prostate cancer (mHSPC). PATIENTS AND METHODS: We conducted the first real-world analysis comprising 97 mHSPC patients from 16 Austrian medical centers, among them 79.4% of patients received abiraterone and 17.5% darolutamide treatment. Baseline characteristics and clinical parameters during triplet therapy were documented. Mann-Whitney U test for continuous or X²-test for categorical variables was used. Variables on progression were tested using logistic regression analysis and tabulated as hazard ratios (HR), 95% confidence interval (CI). RESULTS: Of 83.5% patients with synchronous and 16.5% with metachronous disease were included. 83.5% had high-volume disease diagnosed by conventional imaging (48.9%) or PSMA PET-CT (51.1%). While docetaxel and ARPI were administered consistent with pivotal trials, prednisolone, prophylactic gCSF and osteoprotective agents were not applied guideline conform in 32.5%, 37%, and 24.3% of patients, respectively. Importantly, a nonsimultaneous onset of chemotherapy and ARPI, performed in 44.3% of patients, was associated with significantly worse treatment response (P = .015, HR 0.245). Starting ARPI before chemotherapy was associated with significantly higher probability for progression (P = .023, HR 15.781) than vice versa. Strikingly, 15.6% (abiraterone) and 25.5% (darolutamide) low-volume patients as well as 14.4% (abiraterone) and 17.6% (darolutamide) metachronous patients received triplet therapy. Adverse events (AE) occurred in 61.9% with grade 3 to 5 in 15% of patient without age-related differences. All patients achieved a PSA decline of 99% and imaging response was confirmed in 88% of abiraterone and 75% of darolutamide patients. CONCLUSIONS: Triplet therapy arrived in clinical practice primarily for synchronous high-volume mHSPC. Regardless of selected therapy regimen, treatment is highly effective and tolerable. Preferably therapy should be administered simultaneously, however if not possible, chemotherapy should be started first.

Water safety planning for healthcare facilities for extreme events.

Disasters such as the Ahr Valley flood in 2021 make us aware of the importance of functioning healthcare facilities. Their functionality depends on the availability of drinking water. Water safety planning is a long-established method to increase the safety of water utilities. Our work supports the implementation of water safety planning in healthcare facilities during normal operations and emergency situations concerning the water supply. The authors conducted a stakeholder mapping exercise and problem awareness analysis. Based on these results, it was identified what is needed to overcome barriers to water safety planning (WSP). Building on existing procedures, the WSP concept, and latest scientific findings, an event-specific risk assessment method for healthcare facilities was developed and applied in a case study. Based on an analysis of water demand, water-related processes, and infrastructure, potentially necessary components for establishing an emergency supply were identified. For these, based on technical and legal requirements, planning principles were developed, and prototypes of components for emergency water supply were built. They were tested in pilot trials, particularly regarding hygienic safety. For the management of crises in hospitals, a survey was carried out on the command structures used in practice. Finally, recommendations were drawn based on the German Hospital Incident Command System.

Determination of large microplastics: wet-sieving of dewatered digested sludge, co-substrates, and compost.

Dewatered digested sludge and compost may act as a conduit for microplastics (<5 mm) in terrestrial and subsequently aquatic systems. However, standardized methods for microplastics analyses are lacking. Thus, the aim is to demonstrate the applicability of wet-sieving as a way to quantify large microplastic particles (MPP, 1-5 mm) in dewatered digested sludge and compost. Additionally, we investigated the organic fraction of municipal solid waste, expired drinks and slaughterhouse waste used as co-substrate for anaerobic digestion at wastewater treatment plants (WWTP). Therefore, we collected samples from six WWTP and two biogas plants. These were then wet-sieved and potential MPP analysed via attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR). In dewatered digested sludge the amount of microplastics ranged from 0 to 326 MPP/kg TS (total solids) while compost contained 39-102 MPP/kg TS. Our results show that with 0-36 MPP/kg TS co-substrates are not necessarily a source of microplastics in WWTP. Furthermore, we found film to be the most abundant shape in the biogas plant samples, whereas, in WWTP samples film, fragments and fibers were detected the most. ATR-FTIR revealed that polyvinyl chloride, polyester, polypropylene, and polyethylene were the most abundant materials found across all samples.

A Contactless Laser Doppler Strain Sensor for Fatigue Testing with Resonance-Testing Machine.

In this article, a non-contact laser Doppler strain sensor designed for fatigue testing with the resonance-testing machine is presented. The compact sensor measures in-plane displacements simultaneously from two adjacent points using the principle of in-plane, laser-Doppler vibrometry. The strain is computed from the relative displacements divided by the distance between these two points. The optical design, the mathematical model for estimating noise-limited resolution, the simulation results of this model, and the first measurement results are presented. The comparison of the measurement results of our sensor with the results of a conventional strain gauge shows that our design meets the measurement requirements. The maximum strain deviation compared to conventional strain gauges of the laser-Doppler extensometer is below 4×10-5 in all performed experiments.

Austrian recommendations on Targeted Hormone Therapy for metastatic, castration-resistant prostate cancer.

In recent years, new therapeutic options have brought improvements in the treatment of metastatic, castration-resistant prostate cancer. Targeted Hormone Therapy (THT) represents a novel therapeutic component for which recent studies have shown a maximum benefit in the time between failure of androgen deprivation therapy (patient is metastatic and still pain-free) and prior to chemotherapy. Prostate cancer experts of the Austrian Society of Urology and Andrology (ÖGU), the Working Group for Urologic Oncology as part of the ÖGU, and the Professional Association of Austrian Urologists (BvU) have developed recommendations for the treatment of patients with asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic metastatic, castration-resistant prostate cancer. The definition of failure of classical hormonal therapy has been based on the guidelines of the German Society of Urology (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Urologie, DGU) and the European Association of Urology (EAU). Criteria for the initiation of treatment with hormonal or chemotherapy include: Castration resistance with increase of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) Evidence of metastases in imaging No or mild symptoms Quality of Life Index of the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) 0-1 (ECOG 2 requires individualized decision) [1]. Treatment should only be initiated when all of these four criteria are applicable, with the age of the patient being no exclusion criterion. First-line therapies for these patients include abiraterone, enzalutamide, and docetaxel as well as radium-223. The manuscript refers only to treatment regimens available in Austria.Selection of the initial treatment option-starting with THT or chemotherapy-should be determined based on the individual patient characteristics. When using abiraterone or enzalutamide, re-staging within 3-6 months is recommended.

Impact of the use of bowel for urinary diversion on perioperative complications and 90-day mortality in patients aged 75 years or older.

OBJECTIVE: A potential strategy to decrease the high complication rate of radical cystectomy (RC) in the elderly is to avoid the use of bowel for urinary diversion. The aim of this study was to address this issue in a multicentre study of patients aged ≥ 75 years. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We performed a retrospective, multicentre study of a consecutive series of patients aged ≥ 75 years who underwent RC for muscle-invasive bladder cancer between 2006 and 2010. Medical, surgical and wound complications were graded according to the modified Clavien-Dindo classification. RESULTS: A total of 256 patients (68% men, mean age 79.6 years) were analysed. 204 (80%) patients received a urinary diversion with use of bowel and 52 (20%) a ureterocutaneostomy (UC). Patients with UC were older (82.0 vs. 78.9 years, p < 0.001) and had a higher ASA score (2.6 vs. 2.3, p = 0.007), while the mean Charlson score was lower (4.2 vs. 5.6, p < 0.001). Patients with UC had a shorter operating time (279 vs. 311 min, p = 0.002) and a shorter period in the intensive care unit (0.9 vs. 2.2 days). The overall rate of severe complications graded as Clavien III-V was significantly lower in the UC group (11.5%) as compared to patients receiving bowel for urinary diversion (25.0%) (p = 0.003). Severe (Clavien grade III-V) medical (3.9 vs. 10.3%) and surgical (2.1 vs. 14.1%) complications were all less frequent in the UC group. Inpatient, 30- and 90-day mortality was 5.8, 7.7 and 17.3% in the UC group as compared to 3.9, 5.9 and 6.9% in the bowel cohort, respectively. CONCLUSION: UC following RC is associated with a lower complication rate in geriatric patients. The constantly increasing cohort of geriatric, multimorbid patients requiring cystectomy might justify reconsideration of this form of diversion.

Perioperative complications and 90-day mortality of radical cystectomy in the elderly (75+): a retrospective, multicentre study.

OBJECTIVE: To assess perioperative complications and 90-day mortality of radical cystectomy (RC) in elderly patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC). MATERIALS AND METHODS: This is a retrospective, multicentre (n = 11) study of a consecutive series of patients ≥75 years who underwent RC for MIBC between 2006 and 2010. Medical, surgical and wound complications were graded according to the modified Clavien-Dindo classification. RESULTS: A total of 256 patients with a mean age of 79.6 years (range 75.0-86.6) were analysed. Urinary diversion with the use of bowel was performed in 79.5% and ureterocutaneostomy in 20.5%, with a higher proportion in the ≥80 cohort (32.2 vs. 14%; p = 0.001). 41.4% of patients had an uneventful postoperative course (Clavien grade 0) and 26.6% developed severe complications (Clavien grade III-V). In a multivariable regression analysis, the Charlson comorbidity index (odds ratio 1.5 per unit increase; p < 0.001) and the body mass index (odds ratio 1.13 per kg/m(2) increase; p = 0.015) were predictors for the development of complications. The 90-day mortality rate was 9% and the independent correlates thereof were the development of severe medical complications (p = 0.004), the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) score (p = 0.03) and age (p = 0.005). CONCLUSIONS: Morbidity and 90-day mortality of RC in the elderly remain substantial. The interrelation between comorbidity, complication rate and 90-day mortality underlines the need for a comprehensive geriatric assessment of elderly patients with MIBC in whom RC is indicated.

Bladder cancer--the neglected tumor: a descriptive analysis of publications referenced in MEDLINE and data from the register ClinicalTrials.gov.

BACKGROUND: Uro-oncological neoplasms have both a high incidence and mortality rate and are therefore a major public health problem. The aim of this study was to evaluate research activity in uro-oncology over the last decade. METHODS: We searched MEDLINE and ClinicalTrials.gov systematically for studies on prostatic, urinary bladder, kidney, and testicular neoplasms. The increase in newly published reports per year was analyzed using linear regression. The results are presented with 95% confidence intervals, and a p value <0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: The number of new publications per year increased significantly for prostatic, kidney and urinary bladder neoplasms (all <0.0001). We identified 1,885 randomized controlled trials (RCTs); also for RCTs, the number of newly published reports increased significantly for prostatic (p = 0.001) and kidney cancer (p = 0.005), but not for bladder (p = 0.09) or testicular (p = 0.44) neoplasms. We identified 3,114 registered uro-oncological studies in ClinicalTrials.gov. However, 85% of these studies are focusing on prostatic (45%) and kidney neoplasms (40%), whereas only 11% were registered for bladder cancers. CONCLUSIONS: While the number of publications on uro-oncologic research rises yearly for prostatic and kidney neoplasms, urothelial carcinomas of the bladder seem to be neglected despite their important clinical role. Clinical research on neoplasms of the urothelial bladder must be explicitly addressed and supported.

[Therapy of castration-resistant prostate cancer]. / Therapie des kastrationsrefraktären Prostatakarzinoms.

Within the last two years the therapy of castration resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) has made major advances. Both the COU-AA-301 phase III trial and the TROPIC trial showed a survival benefit for patients after docetaxel failure treated with abiraterone or cabazitaxel, respectively. With rising interest for chemotherapeutic options and novel drugs, our goal was to review within the context of a multidisciplinary team the available evidence and explore the standards for medical treatment of prostate cancer outside of clinical trials. From this background, we are carefully evaluating the current treatment recommendations, based on the available evidence, and highlight potential future treatment options but also discuss important clinical topics like treatment until progression versus the advantage of chemo holidays and definition of particular patient subgroups. Additionally, we focus on novel molecular entities, which will most likely be available in the near future, such as MDV3100 and Sipuleucel T. The role and importance of palliation with radiotherapy and proactive medical management of pain is also discussed, as well as new options for bone directed therapy. The multitude of treatment options for patients with advanced prostate cancer clearly asks for a close collaboration between urologists, medical oncologists and radiation therapists.

Quadrimodal treatment of high-risk T1 and T2 bladder cancer: transurethral tumor resection followed by concurrent radiochemotherapy and regional deep hyperthermia.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: To assess the safety and effectiveness of treating high-risk T1 and T2 bladder cancer with transurethral resection (TUR-BT) followed by radiochemotherapy (RCT) combined with regional deep hyperthermia (RHT). MATERIAL AND METHODS: Between 2003 and 2007, 45 patients were enrolled. After TUR-BT patients received radiotherapy (RT) of the bladder and regional lymph nodes with 50.4 Gy, and a boost to the bladder of 5.4-9 Gy. RCT was applied to 43/45 patients. RHT was administered once weekly. Response was re-evaluated 6 weeks after RT by restaging-TUR. Toxicity was graded with the CTCAE, version 3.0. QoL was evaluated by a dedicated questionnaire. RESULTS: The median follow-up was 34 months (range 12-60). The median number of hyperthermia treatments was 5 (range 1-7). Acute toxicity grades 3 and 4 occurred in 20% (9/45) and 9% (4/45), respectively. Late toxicity grades 3/4 were seen in 24% (11/45). Complete response rate was 96% (43/45). Local recurrence-free survival was 85%, overall survival was 80%, disease-specific survival was 88%, metastasis-free survival was 89%, and the bladder-preserving rate was 96% (43/45) at 3 years. Eighty percent (24/30) were at least mostly satisfied with their bladder function. CONCLUSIONS: The quadrimodal treatment was feasible and well tolerated. Local control and bladder-preserving rates were encouraging.

Survivin expression as a predictive marker for local control in patients with high-risk T1 bladder cancer treated with transurethral resection and radiochemotherapy.

PURPOSE: The objectives of this study were to investigate the expression of survivin in tumor samples from patients with high-risk T1 bladder cancer and to correlate its expression with clinicopathologic features as well as clinical outcomes after initial transurethral resection (TURBT) followed by radiotherapy (RT) or radiochemotherapy (RCT). METHODS AND MATERIALS: Survivin protein expression was evaluated by immunohistochemistry on tumor specimen (n = 48) from the initial TURBT, and was correlated with clinical and histopathologic characteristics as well as with 5-year rates of local failure, tumor progression, and death from urothelial cancer after primary bladder sparring treatment with RT/RCT. RESULTS: Survivin was not expressed in normal bladder urothelium but was overexpressed in 67% of T1 tumors. No association between survivin expression and clinicopathologic factors (age, gender, grading, multifocality, associated carcinoma in situ) could be shown. With a median follow-up of 27 months (range, 3-140 months), elevated survivin expression was significantly associated with an increased probability of local failure after TURBT and RCT/RT (p = 0.003). There was also a clear trend toward a higher risk of tumor progression (p = 0.07) and lower disease-specific survival (p = 0.10). CONCLUSIONS: High survivin expression is a marker of tumor aggressiveness and may help to identify a subgroup of patients with T1 bladder cancer at a high risk for recurrence when treated with primary organ-sparing approaches such as TURBT and RCT.

Treatment options for high-risk T1 bladder cancer: status quo and future perspectives of radiochemotherapy.

PURPOSE: To review the standards and new developments in diagnosis and management of high-risk T1 bladder cancer with emphasis on the role of radiotherapy (RT) and radiochemotherapy (RCT). MATERIAL AND METHODS: A systematic review of the literature on developments in diagnosis and management of high-risk T1 bladder cancer was performed. RESULTS: First transurethral resection (TUR), as radical as safely possible, supported by fluorescence cystoscopy, shows higher detection and decreased recurrence rates. An immediate single postoperative instillation with a chemotherapeutic drug reduces the relative risk of recurrence by 40%. A second TUR is recommended to assess residual tumor. For adjuvant intravesical therapy, bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) demonstrated the highest efficacy. Early cystectomy should be reserved for selected patients. A recent phase III trial comparing RT versus conservative treatment in T1 G3 tumors could not show any advantage for RT. Data from Erlangen, Germany, using combined RCT in 80% of the patients, compare favorably with most of the contemporary BCG series. CONCLUSION: Results of intravesical therapy are still unsatisfying and early cystectomy is associated with morbidity and mortality. RT alone proved not superior to other conservative treatment strategies. However, data on RCT are promising and demonstrate an alternative to intravesical therapy and radical cystectomy.

Polymorphisms in the human progesterone receptor (PGR) gene of two human prostate adenocarcinoma cell lines.

BACKGROUND: The incidence and mortality rate of prostate cancer has been steadily increasing in most countries worldwide. A potential implication of the progesterone receptor has been reported in prostatic carcinogenesis. In this study, an allele of human progesterone receptor gene (PROGINS), which was demonstrated to be associated with an increased risk of sporadic ovarian cancer, was tested in two human prostate cancer cell lines, PC-EW and PC-OR. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Genomic DNA was isolated from the cell lines in athymic nude mice. The polymorphisms in exon 4 and exon 5 and the insertion in intron G (PROGINS) were identified by sequencing and gel electrophoresis. RESULTS: The PROGINS allele and the polymorphisms in exon 4 and exon 5 were found heterozygous in the PC-OR cell line but not in the PC-EW cell line. CONCLUSION: We described the polymorphisms of exon 4, exon 5 and PROGINS in prostate cancer. Mutation screening of the PGR gene may provide information for risk assessment of developing prostate cancer.

Examination of tumorigenesis of precursor lesions in bladder cancer by in situ hybridization.

Through examinations using fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) of chromosomes 1 and 9, we tried to obtain more information on dysplasia and carcinoma in situ (Cis) in relation to the oncogenesis of bladder cancer. 63 paraffin sections (dysplasia grades I-III and Cis) were evaluated, and 8 negative sections functioned as a control group. For FISH, DNA samples of CEP 1 and 9 (alpha satellites) were chosen. Gains (aneuploidy) or losses (monosomy) of chromosomal material were determined microscopically. Dysplasia grades I-III showed a 5-18% aberration in chromosome 1 aneuploidy and a 19-29% aberration in monosomy 9. Cis revealed 27% aneuploidy of chromosomes 1 and 9. Although at present dysplasia grade III and Cis of the bladder are viewed as histopathologically identical, we examined both molecular genetic differences in chromosome 9. As referred to in the literature we found the same genetic aberrations for dysplasias (grades I-III) and noninvasive papillary bladder tumors as well as for Cis and solid invasive bladder cancer.