Multicentered Assessment of Clinical Outcomes and Factors Associated With Failure of the Adjustable TransObturator Male System (ATOMS).

OBJECTIVE: To assess postoperative outcomes from the Adjustable TransObturator Male System (ATOMS) and identify factors influencing failure to achieve continence. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A multicentered analysis was performed on all patients treated for postprostatectomy incontinence using the third-generation ATOMS at 9 Canadian tertiary referral centers. The primary outcome was continence (defined as requiring ≤1 pad postoperatively for patients requiring ≥2 pads preoperatively and 0 pads for those requiring 1 pad preoperatively). Secondary outcomes included improvement (>50% change in pad use), patient satisfaction, explantation, and postoperative complications. RESULTS: Two hundred and eighty nine patients with a mean age of 68.9 years were analyzed. Pre-operatively mean pad per day use was 4.2 (1-12), 31.5% of patients reported severe incontinence (≥5 pads/day), 33.9% had concurrent radiotherapy and 19.4% had failed previous incontinence surgery. Overall continence rate was 73.3% (n = 212) at a mean follow-up of 19.6 months. More than eighty nine percent (89.3%) (n = 258) of patients experienced >50% improvement, 84.4% (n = 244) of patients were satisfied with the results of surgery. More than seven percent (7.9%) (n = 23) required device explantation. On multivariate Cox regression analysis, concurrent radiotherapy (hazard ratio [H.R.] 2.3, P < .001), diabetes (H.R. 2.2, P = .007) and increased pre-operative pad usage (H.R. 1.1, P = .02) were each associated with failure to achieve continence, while patient age (P = .60), obesity (P = .08), prior urethral stenosis (P = .56), and prior incontinence surgery (P = .13) were not. Radiation therapy was also associated with device explantation (H.R. 2.7, P = .02). CONCLUSION: ATOMS is a safe and efficacious for treatment of postprostatectomy incontinence. However, patients with prior radiation, increased pre-operative pad use, or diabetes are less likely to achieve continence.

Chordee and Penile Shortening Rather Than Voiding Function Are Associated With Patient Dissatisfaction After Urethroplasty.

OBJECTIVE: To identify factors that predict patient satisfaction after urethroplasty by prospectively examining patient-reported quality of life scores using 3 validated instruments. METHODS: A 3-part prospective survey consisting of the International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS), the International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF) score, and a urethroplasty quality of life survey was completed by patients who underwent urethroplasty preoperatively and at 6 months postoperatively. The quality of life score included questions on genitourinary pain, urinary tract infection (UTI), postvoid dribbling, chordee, shortening, overall satisfaction, and overall health. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, paired t test, univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses, and Wilcoxon signed-rank analysis. RESULTS: Patients were enrolled in the study from February 2011 to December 2014, and a total of 94 patients who underwent a total of 102 urethroplasties completed the study. Patients reported statistically significant improvements in IPSS (P < .001). Ordinal linear regression analysis revealed no association between age, IPSS, or IIEF score and patient satisfaction. Wilcoxon signed-rank analysis revealed significant improvements in pain scores (P = .02), UTI (P < .001), perceived overall health (P = .01), and satisfaction (P < .001). Univariate logistic regression identified a length >4 cm and the absence of UTI, pain, shortening, and chordee as predictors of patient satisfaction. Multivariate analysis of quality of life domain scores identified absence of shortening and absence of chordee as independent predictors of patient satisfaction following urethroplasty (P < .01). CONCLUSION: Patient voiding function and quality of life improve significantly following urethroplasty, but improvement in voiding function is not associated with patient satisfaction. Chordee status and perceived penile shortening impact patient satisfaction, and should be included in patient-reported outcome measures.

Urodynamic improvements following oral medical therapy for partial bladder outlet obstruction in an animal model.

PURPOSE: Bladder deterioration after partial outlet obstruction (pBOO) occurs commonly and has significant clinical implications. Our previous animal model results described the progression of pBOO to hypertrophy and fibrosis. We wished to determine if the pathologic process of pBOO can be altered with rationally chosen oral medications. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Female Sprague-Dawley rats underwent controlled surgically induced pBOO. Rats were maintained for a period of 16 weeks at which point urodynamics were performed, and organs harvested. Rats were divided into four groups, each receiving different daily treatment: control (saline), oxybutynin (3 mg/kg), rapamycin (2 mg/kg), and tadalafil (2 mg/kg). Outcomes were assessed after 4,8,12, or 16 weeks. Measures included animal health, urodynamics, histology, mass spectrometry for collagen content, and rtPCR for inflammatory mediators. RESULTS: Rapamycin treated animals exhibited significant mortality at later time points. Oxybutinin and tadalafil treated bladders demonstrated significant improvements in bladder capacity and compliance, with less detrusor hypertrophy than controls. Tadalafil also resulted in a significant down-regulation of HIF-1α, while decorin, biglycan, and TGF-ß were upregulated in treated animals. Tadalafil treated bladders measured lower collagen content towards the end of the study, indicating an antifibrotic effect. CONCLUSIONS: Our study has effectively demonstrated that deleterious changes secondary to pBOO can be altered pharmacologically. Oxybutinin and tadalafil seem to have a time-dependent protective effect on the detrusor muscle, although with different mechanisms of action. Tadalafil treatment in this setting appears to have an antifibrotic effect. This work has the potential to seed important clinical studies and improve clinical practice.

Differential expression of class I small leucine-rich proteoglycans in an animal model of partial bladder outlet obstruction.

PURPOSE: Partial bladder outlet obstruction has been shown in a rat model to progress from inflammation to hypertrophy to fibrosis. Small leucine-rich proteoglycans are extracellular matrix components associated with collagen fibrillogenesis and resultant scar formation. Two such critical small leucine-rich proteoglycans are decorin and biglycan. We hypothesized that in keeping with other scar models, decorin would be down-regulated and biglycan would be up-regulated with the onset of fibrosis compared to sham. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We challenged our hypothesis with female Fisher rats that underwent ligation of the bladder neck or sham surgery. Animals were sacrificed at 4, 8 and 12 weeks, and bladders were harvested. Frozen sections were stained for immunofluorescence for decorin and biglycan. mRNA expression for decorin and biglycan was analyzed using quantitative reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction. RESULTS: All rats survived to specified experimental end points in good health. Immunofluorescent stains showed progressive down-regulation of decorin and up-regulation of biglycan during the 12-week course by 0.36 and 1.82-fold, respectively (p = 0.02 and p = 0.02), compared to shams. Quantitative real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction confirmed these findings in 12-week specimens, showing a down-regulation of decorin by a factor of 0.45 (p = 0.02) and up-regulation of biglycan by a factor of 2.04-fold (p = 0.08). CONCLUSIONS: We present the first identification to our knowledge of small leucine-rich proteoglycans in normal and abnormal bladder tissue, and their differential expression in the process of bladder fibrosis, consistent with experimental findings in other anatomical sites. Further investigation into small leucine-rich proteoglycan expression and regulation may allow for the development of new antifibrotic therapeutics.