[Complete resection of urothelial cancer metastases with curative intent]. / Metastasenchirurgie in kurativer Absicht beim Urothelkarzinom.

BACKGROUND: Recent publications suggest that a subgroup of patients can benefit from surgical removal of transitional cell carcinoma (TCC) metastases in addition to systemic chemotherapy. We report the combined experience and outcome of patients undergoing resection of TCC metastases at 15 uro-oncologic centers in Germany. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Forty-four patients with distant metastatic TCC of the bladder or upper urinary tract underwent resection of all detectable metastases in 15 different German uro-oncological centers between 1991 and 2008 in an attempt to be rendered free of disease. RESULTS: The resected metastatic sites consisted of retroperitoneal lymph nodes (56.8%), distant lymph nodes (11.3%), lung (18.2%), bone (4.5%), adrenal gland (2.3%), brain (2.3%), small intestine (2.3%), and skin (2.3%). The treatment sequence included systemic chemotherapy in 35/44 (79.5%) patients before and/or after surgery. Median survival times from initial diagnosis of metastatic TCC and subsequent resection were as follows: overall survival, 35 and 27 months, respectively; cancer-specific survival, 38 and 34 months, respectively; and progression-free survival, 19 and 15 months, respectively. Overall 5-year survival from metastasectomy for the entire cohort was 28%. Seventeen patients were still alive without progression at a median follow-up time of 8 months. Seven patients without disease progression survived for more than 2 years and remain free from tumor progression at a median of 63 months. CONCLUSION: The results in this selected cohort confirm that long-term cancer control and possibly cure can be achieved in a subgroup of patients following surgical removal of TCC metastases. However, prospective data to identify patients most likely to benefit from this aggressive therapeutic approach are lacking. Therefore, metastasectomy in patients with disseminated TCC remains investigational and should be offered only to those with limited disease as a combined-modality approach with systemic chemotherapy.

[Antibiotic induced diarrhea and pseudomembranous colitis]. / Antibiotikainduzierte Diarrhö und pseudomembranöse Enterokolitis.

The spore-forming anaerobic bacterium Clostridium difficile has become a serious enteropathogen. Oral and parenteral administration of antibiotics can cause ecological disturbances in the normal intestinal microflora. Suppression of the normal microflora may lead to reduced colonization resistance with subsequent overgrowth by pre-existing, naturally resistant microorganisms, such as C. difficile. C. difficile infection shows a range of clinical presentations between an asymptomatic carrier state, light diarrhea without inflammatory changes, and pseudomembranous colitis. C. difficile infection is acquired by the fecal-oral or environmental-oral routes. From March 2000 through March 2001 we assessed 48 cases of nosocomial antibiotic-associated diarrhea (AAD). Of these, 21 were due to C. difficile (CDAD). Cephalosporin was the agent most commonly associated with CDAD. Avoidance of cephalosporins, strict use of "single shot" prophylaxis, isolation of infected, symptomatic patients in single-bed rooms, improved hygiene and complete room disinfection lead to a rapid decrease of CDAD. The etiology, prognosis and prophylaxis are discussed in this paper.

The anaphylatoxin C5a, a new parameter in the diagnosis of renal allograft rejection.

In the underlying study the diagnostic value of the anaphylatoxin C5a was evaluated in kidney transplantation. In 49 transplant patients the following parameters were measured daily for a mean period of 25.1 days: plasma C5a [P-C5a], urine C5a [U-C5a], serum amyloid A [SAA], serum neopterin [S-NEOP] and urine neopterin [U-NEOP]. Sensitivity, specificity and day of first significant parameter increase (exceeding a cut-off level of > 50%) were evaluated retrospectively during 30 periods of rejection and 30 periods of stable graft function. U-C5a was the parameter with the highest sensitivity (84%) and specificity (84%), increasing in the mean 1.3 days before clinical diagnosis of rejection. Sensitivity and specificity of the other markers was lower: SAA 77% and 77%, U-NEOP 68% and 65%, S-NEOP 45% and 77%, and P-C5a 45% and 48%, respectively. During four instances of cytomegalovirus disease extremely high U-NEOP (> or = 1520 +/- 518 mumol/mol creatinine) and slightly increased P-C5a levels (> or = 1.5 +/- 1.4 ng/ml) occurred. Elevated urinary excretion of C5a seems to be a reliable and early marker of renal allograft rejection. In combination with SAA and U-NEOP, the daily assessment of U-C5a differentiates between viral infection and allograft rejection.