Can Computed Tomography Perfusion Predict Treatment Response After Prostate Artery Embolization: A Feasibility Study.

Prostate artery embolization (PAE) is an emerging therapy for benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). Optimal patient selection is an important step when introducing new treatments and several characteristics associated with a good clinical outcome has previously been proposed. However, no prognostic tool is yet available for PAE. Computed tomography perfusion is an imaging technique that provides hemodynamic parameters making it possible to estimate the prostatic blood flow (PBF). This study investigated the relationship between PBF and the response to PAE. A post hoc analysis including prostate-specific antigen (PSA) measurements before and 24-h after embolization from two prospective studies on sixteen patients undergoing PAE with BPH or prostate cancer were performed. The primary outcome was the correlation between baseline PBF and the change in PSA as a surrogate measure of treatment response. Prostate volume strongly correlated with treatment response and the response was greater with incremental amounts of injected embolic material. PBF was not associated with elevation in PSA and added no information that could guide patient selection.

Prostate Artery Embolization for Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms in Men Unfit for Surgery.

Nearly one in three men develop lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) and 10% clinically progress despite medication. Transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP) is the reference standard for symptoms refractory to medical treatment. However, some patients cannot tolerate TURP for medical (e.g., comorbidity) or technical (e.g., large prostate) reasons. This study estimated the safety and effect of prostate artery embolization (PAE) in men unfit for surgery. A prospective, single-centre trial including men with LUTS or urinary retention secondary to benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) who were unfit for surgery. The primary objective was to treat urinary retention and LUTS. Outcome measures included International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS), quality of life (IPSS-QoL), International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF-5), prostate volume (PV), prostate-specific antigen (PSA), peak void flow (Qmax), post-void residual (PVR), and complications. A p-value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Eleven consecutive patients with a mean age of 75.2 (SD ± 8.2) underwent PAE. Catheter removal was successful in 60%. IPSS-QoL improved 4.5 points (95% CI: -5.6; -3.4), and PV was reduced by 26.2 cm3 (95% CI: -50.9; -2.3). None of the remaining outcomes changed. No major complications occurred. PAE was effective and safe for LUTS and urinary retention associated with BPH in men unfit for surgery.

[Prostate artery embolisation is a new treatment for prostate disease].

Prostate artery embolisation (PAE) is a new minimally in-vasive treatment for prostate disease. Recent studies have shown, that PAE may be an alternative to transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP), and it reduces the prostate volume by 40%. The reduction in symptom score is com-parable to that of TURP, and only few major complications have been reported. The purpose of this narrative review is to provide a brief overview of the current literature on PAE.

High inter-observer agreement of observer-perceived pain assessment in the emergency department.

BACKGROUND: Triage is used to prioritize the patients in the emergency department. The majority of the triage systems include the patients' pain score to assess their level of acuity by using a combination of patient reported pain and observer-perceived pain; the latter therefore requires a certain degree of inter-observer agreement. The aim of the present study was to assess the inter-observer agreement of perceived pain among emergency department nurses and to evaluate if it was influenced by predetermined factors like age and gender. METHOD: A project assistant randomly recruited two nurses, who were not allowed to interact with each other, to assess patient pain intensity on the numeric ranking scale. The project assistant afterwards entered the pain scores in a predesigned electronic questionnaire. We used weighted Fleiss-Cohen (quadratic) kappa statistics, Bland-Altman statistics and logistic regression analysis to assess the inter-observer agreement. RESULTS: One hundred and sixty-two patients were included. They had a median age of 38 years and 45% were females. 30% of the patients were acute surgical patients and 70% acute orthopedic patients. The average time between the pain assessments were 1,7 min. The Bland Altman analysis found a mean difference in pain score of 0.2 and 95% limits of agreement of +/- 3 point. When the NRS scores were translated to commonly used pain categories (no, mild, moderate or severe pain) we found a 70% agreement with a mean difference in categories of 0.05 and 95% limits of agreement of +/- 1 category. Patient age, gender, localization of pain, examination room or presence of a significant other did not affect the inter-observer agreement. CONCLUSION: We found 70% agreement on pain category between the nurses and it is justified that nurse-perceived pain assessment is used for triage in the emergency department.

Littre Hernia: A Rare Case of an Incarcerated Meckel's Diverticulum.

A Meckel's diverticulum is a remnant of the vitelline duct, which leads to the formation of a true diverticulum containing all layers of the small intestine. The diverticulum can contain ectopic gastric, duodenal or pancreatic tissue and is the most common congenital anomaly of the gastrointestinal tract with estimates of prevalence ranging from 0.3% to 3%. The condition is usually clinically silent. In children the most common complication is gastrointestinal bleeding caused by ulceration due to the acid secretion by ectopic gastric mucosa.