Hypebaric oxygen treatment in urology.

OBJECTIVES: Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBO) has been successfully used in several disorders derived from tissue hypoxia, due to the extra oxygen supply to the tissues it enables. In this manuscript we performed a systematic review including all the existing data published until 2010 about HBO in urologic disorders. METHODS: We performed a Medline search using the terms "hyperbaric oxygen", "radical cystitis", "interstitial cystitis", "hemorrhagic cystitis", "urological/pelvic fistula"and "Fournier's gangrene". The search was restricted to human clinical trials published in any language. RESULTS: We found 56 papers: 1 randomized controlled trial, 7 reviews and 48 case reports; only one of them was a prospective study. A total of 695 patients were included. Just one study used tissue oxygen measurement to define hypoxia. The number of hyperbaric oxygen therapy sessions ranged from 4 to 44 (mean 19.2 sessions/patient). CONCLUSIONS: The level of evidence from most reviewed papers is low because most of them are case series. Nevertheless, results of most of those studies regarding patient management are good or very good. So it seems that HBO can be very useful in urological diseases related to tissue hypoxia.

Large cell neuroendocrine carcinoma of the urinary bladder. Bibliographic review.

OBJECTIVES: Large cell neuroendocrine carcinoma (LCNEC) of the urinary bladder is very rare. We intend to update diagnostic criteria, pathologic and immunohistochemical characteristics, prognosis and treatment options. All published articles related with LCNEC of the urinary bladder have been reviewed and a descriptive study has been done. RESULTS: A total of 17 LCNEC of the bladder has been found. The 50% of all LCNEC of the bladder are mixed histological variant. This variant implies a better prognosis than the pure variant. The 70% of LCNEC of the bladder were ≥T3 at the time of diagnosis and the survival rate was 25%, whereas T2 tumors showed a survival rate of 100%. Radical cystectomy with lymphadenectomy combined with chemotherapy can sometimes reduce local and distant recurrence and improve survival of LCNEC of the bladder. CONCLUSIONS: LCNEC of the bladder is a tumor with high rate of local and distant recurrence, as well as low survival, requiring early diagnosis and aggressive combined treatment.