Three-year follow-up in patients with urinary stress incontinence treated with Altis® single-incision sling.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of the study is to report three years follow-up of single incision slings for the treatment of stress urinary incontinence (SUI). The main outcomes are to evaluate the efficacy of the device and to assess safety, adverse events, quality of life, demographic features of treated women and prognostic factors for SUI. METHODS: We performed a retrospective, double-center, single-arm study. Data were collected by medical records and a telephone interview 3 years after the implant of the mini-sling. Complication rate, subjective efficacy and degree of satisfaction were investigated. RESULTS: Fifty-four patients were treated between March 2015 and March 2017, of which 47 answered the survey. Forty-one of 47 procedures (87.2%) were considered effective. Among more relevant complications, there was one case of extrusion of mesh and three cases of new onset of urinary disfunction, of which two cases of urgency urinary incontinence (UUI) and one case of de-novo SUI. Most complications were solved within few days after the procedure. Concerning the subjective impression of improvement, investigated by using the Patient Global Impression of Improvement (PGI-I) questionnaires, 41 patients reported subjective satisfaction, three reported no change in quality of life and three patients had worsening of symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: The procedure was safe and effective for the treatment of SUI but more data are needed to confirm our preliminary results.

Is 11C-choline Positron Emission Tomography/Computed Tomography Accurate to Detect Nodal Relapses of Prostate Cancer After Biochemical Recurrence? A Multicentric Study Based on Pathologic Confirmation from Salvage Lymphadenectomy.

BACKGROUND: A 11C-choline positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) scan is used for restaging prostate cancer (PCa) patients with biochemical recurrence (BCR). Only a few reports have focused on the correlation between PET/CT and nodal relapse location at pathologic examination. OBJECTIVE: To assess the accuracy of PET/CT in predicting the site of nodal relapses in patients undergoing pelvic and/or retroperitoneal salvage lymph node dissection (sLND). DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: Multicentric retrospective study including 106 patients with BCR of PCa after radical treatment; all patients but six had a PET/CT showing at least one nodal recurrence and received sLND. OUTCOME MEASUREMENTS AND STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: PET/CT results were compared with histologic findings and analyzed in terms of sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy. Multivariable regression analyses were performed. RESULTS AND LIMITATIONS: Overall sensitivity, specificity, negative and positive predictive value, and accuracy of PET/CT for disease location were 61.6%, 79.3%, 66.3%, 75.7%, and 70.2%, respectively. Sensitivity was 75.5% in the lower pelvis with 69.8% specificity. The retroperitoneal region had high specificity (94.7%) but a relatively low sensitivity (58.3%). The sLNDs did not find any positive nodes in 16 patients (15%). According to regression analyses, discriminative accuracy of PET/CT was 70.4% and improved with an increased number of dissected nodes and prostate-specific antigen doubling time <12 mo. Limitations include retrospective design and lack of a standardized sLND template followed for all patients. CONCLUSIONS: The ability of PET/CT to detect nodal relapses is limited by a high false-positive rate, particularly in the iliac-obturator region and, more alarmingly, a high false-negative rate in the common iliac, sacral, and retroperitoneal regions. An extended template including pelvic and retroperitoneal regions should be adopted when sLND is planned for curative intent. PATIENT SUMMARY: The 11C-choline positron emission tomography/computed tomography scan is a commonly used tool to restage prostate cancer patients with biochemical recurrence, showing an overall per patient accuracy >80%; however, its ability to detect the site of nodal relapses remains suboptimal.

[Relationship between PTH and PSA values in patients with pathological finding of benign prostatic hyperplasia]. / Correlazione tra dosaggio di paratormone ed elevati valori di PSA prebioptici in pazienti con successivo esito istologico di benignità.

The functional relationship between parathyroid glands and prostatic gland is commonly very well known. The aim of our study was to investigate the relationship between serum levels of PTH and serum levels of PSA in patients with pathological finding of BPH. According to 261 transrectal ultrasound-guided prostatic biopsies performed from March 2009 to March 2010, 75 patients, responding to our inclusion criteria, were selected. 26 patients (34.6%) ended the study. All patients with high serum levels of PSA (>4 ng/mL), with histological diagnosis of benign prostatic hyperplasia, underwent the assay of serum levels of PTH. We observed high levels of PTH (> 66 pg/mL) in 9 patients (35.2%).