Is there a difference in the peri-operative morbidity between patients undergoing transurethral resection of the prostate alone compared with patients undergoing transurethral resection combined with treatment of bladder stones?

To compare the peri-operative morbidity in patients undergoing transurethral resection of the prostate [TURF] for obstructing benign prostatic hyperplasia [BPH] alone with patients undergoing optical cystolitholapaxy for the treatment of moderately sized bladder calculi followed by TURF for obstructing BPH. Over a 10-year period, 25 patients with obstructing BPH associated with moderately sized bladder stones underwent optical cystolitholapaxy aiming at total stone clearance followed by TURP under the same anesthesia. They were retrospectively compared with a second group of 25 randomly selected patients matched for age and prostate size who had undergone TURF only. The parameters studied were the duration of surgery, the need for post-operative urethral catheterization / irrigation, post-operative hospitalization and post-operative morbidity. Complete stone clearance was achieved in all patients before the performance of TURF. In the study group the operative time was 47 +/- 21 minutes longer than in the control patients who had TURF alone. None of the patients required catheterization or post-operative bladder irrigation. There was no difference between the groups regarding the duration of post-operative hospitalization. A single case of lower urinary tract infection occurred in each group; it resolved with appropriate antibiotic treatment. None of the patients had associated fever, and mortality was nil. The combination of optical cystolitholapaxy with TURF under the same anesthesia in patients with small and moderately sized bladder calculi associated with obstructing BPH did not lead to any significant increase in peri-operative morbidity when compared with patients who underwent TURF only

Correlation of serum PSA and Gleason score in Nigerian men with prostate cancer

Prostate cancer is an important cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. While the predisposing factors are not fully understood, African descent is an important risk factor, and prostate cancer has become the number-one cancer in Nigerian men. This was a retrospective study of the correlation between serum prostate specific antigen [PSA] and Gleason grade and score in patients of Nigerian descent. The University College Hospital [UCH] Ibadan Cancer Registry was used to identify and quantify the incidence of prostate cancers occurring between 1998 and 2000. The histological slides of appropriate cases were reviewed to confi rm the Gleason grade and score. The serum PSA values were retrieved from the patients' case notes and laboratory files. The data obtained were subjected to statistical analysis to look for associations and correlations. The study included 67 men with prostate adenocarcinoma and PSA measurements who were diagnosed and treated at the UCH Ibadan between January 1998 and December 2000. There was a positive correlation between serum PSA and Gleason grade, as well as between serum PSA and Gleason score in our cohort of Nigerian African men with prostate cancer. PSA levels were significantly lower in patients with stage B disease than in patients with stage D disease. Serum PSA is signifi cantly higher in metastatic than in localized disease. Further studies are necessary to determine biomarkers that complement serum PSA and the Gleason grading system in the prognostication of prostate cancer in African patients