Geographic variation and trends in prevalence of obesity among US adolescents, 2016-2021.

OBJECTIVE: Recent updates of geographic variations, trends, and sociodemographic disparities in obesity prevalence among US adolescents are limited. The study aimed to fill those research gaps. STUDY DESIGN: Serial cross-sectional analysis of the US nationally representative study. METHODS: Data from six cycles of the National Survey of Children's Health (2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021) with information on physical health at the national and state level were used. A total of 107,274 adolescents aged 10-17 years old were included with sociodemographic data (age, sex, race/ethnicity, parental education level, and family income) and state of residence. Logistic regression models were used to estimate the odds ratios (ORs) associated with obesity across sociodemographic groups. In addition, ORs were calculated to compare obesity rates between the pandemic period (2020-2021) and the pre-pandemic period (2018-2019) overall and by sociodemographic subgroups. Survey analysis procedures were used to account for complex survey designs to derive representative estimates. RESULTS: From 2016 to 2021, obesity prevalence increased from 16.1% (95% confidence interval [CI], 14.9%-17.4%) to 17.6% (95% CI, 16.4%-18.9%) (P-trend = 0.04). The combined prevalence of obesity varies substantially by state, from 9.34% (95% CI, 6.96%-12.4%; Colorado) to 27.1% (95% CI, 23.1%-31.5%; Mississippi) for adolescents aged 10-13 years and ranged from 9.86% (95% CI, 7.63%-12.7%; Utah) to 22.4% (95% CI, 19.0%-26.1%; West Virginia) for adolescents aged 14-17 years. Except for subgroups male gender and parents with college degrees or above, the prevalence of obesity showed stable trends across sociodemographic subgroups. Compared to the pre-pandemic period, the multivariable-adjusted ORs of obesity were 1.18 (95% CI, 1.06-1.32) for male adolescents, 1.16 (95% CI, 1.04-1.28) for non-Hispanic White adolescents, 1.81 (95% CI, 1.15-2.84) for non-Hispanic Asian adolescents, 1.26 (95% CI, 1.05-1.52) for adolescents whose parents had a high school education, and 1.15 (95% CI, 1.0-1.33) for adolescents whose parents had a college degree or higher. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of obesity among US adolescents increased significantly between 2016 and 2021. The prevalence of obesity was relatively high in southern states. Those with low household income, low parental education, or being non-Hispanic Black or Hispanic were also more likely to be obese. Compared to the pre-pandemic period, several groups of adolescents increased their likelihood of obesity during the pandemic period.

Quantitative Evaluation of Medial Temporal Lobe Morphology in Children with Febrile Status Epilepticus: Results of the FEBSTAT Study.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: The pathogenesis of febrile status epilepticus is poorly understood, but prior studies have suggested an association with temporal lobe abnormalities, including hippocampal malrotation. We used a quantitative morphometric method to assess the association between temporal lobe morphology and febrile status epilepticus. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Brain MR imaging was performed in children presenting with febrile status epilepticus and control subjects as part of the Consequences of Prolonged Febrile Seizures in Childhood study. Medial temporal lobe morphologic parameters were measured manually, including the distance of the hippocampus from the midline, hippocampal height:width ratio, hippocampal angle, collateral sulcus angle, and width of the temporal horn. RESULTS: Temporal lobe morphologic parameters were correlated with the presence of visual hippocampal malrotation; the strongest association was with left temporal horn width (P < .001; adjusted OR, 10.59). Multiple morphologic parameters correlated with febrile status epilepticus, encompassing both the right and left sides. This association was statistically strongest in the right temporal lobe, whereas hippocampal malrotation was almost exclusively left-sided in this cohort. The association between temporal lobe measurements and febrile status epilepticus persisted when the analysis was restricted to cases with visually normal imaging findings without hippocampal malrotation or other visually apparent abnormalities. CONCLUSIONS: Several component morphologic features of hippocampal malrotation are independently associated with febrile status epilepticus, even when complete hippocampal malrotation is absent. Unexpectedly, this association predominantly involves the right temporal lobe. These findings suggest that a spectrum of bilateral temporal lobe anomalies are associated with febrile status epilepticus in children. Hippocampal malrotation may represent a visually apparent subset of this spectrum.

Determining the effects and challenges of incorporating genetic testing into primary care management of hypertensive patients with African ancestry.

People of African ancestry (Blacks) have increased risk of kidney failure due to numerous socioeconomic, environmental, and clinical factors. Two variants in the APOL1 gene are now thought to account for much of the racial disparity associated with hypertensive kidney failure in Blacks. However, this knowledge has not been translated into clinical care to help improve patient outcomes and address disparities. GUARDD is a randomized trial to evaluate the effects and challenges of incorporating genetic risk information into primary care. Hypertensive, non-diabetic, adults with self-reported African ancestry, without kidney dysfunction, are recruited from diverse clinical settings and randomized to undergo APOL1 genetic testing at baseline (intervention) or at one year (waitlist control). Providers are educated about genomics and APOL1. Guided by a genetic counselor, trained staff return APOL1 results to patients and provide low-literacy educational materials. Real-time clinical decision support tools alert clinicians of their patients' APOL1 results and associated risk status at the point of care. Our academic-community-clinical partnership designed a study to generate information about the impact of genetic risk information on patient care (blood pressure and renal surveillance) and on patient and provider knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors. GUARDD will help establish the effective implementation of APOL1 risk-informed management of hypertensive patients at high risk of CKD, and will provide a robust framework for future endeavors to implement genomic medicine in diverse clinical practices. It will also add to the important dialog about factors that contribute to and may help eliminate racial disparities in kidney disease.

The association of host age and gender with inflammation around neurocysticercosis cysts.

The results of previous investigations indicate that age and gender may influence the strength of the human host's immune response to infection of the central nervous system with the larvae of Taenia solium. Most of the relevant research on such neurocysticercosis (NCC) has, however, been conducted on hospital-based samples in developing countries, where differential access to healthcare may bias the study results. Using data from 171 NCC patients participating in a treatment trial, the associations of patient age and gender with the presence of inflammation around NCC cysts (i.e. cysts in the transitional phase) have recently been explored, after controlling for measures of economic and geographical access to healthcare. Data on cysts were collected from computed-tomography or magnetic-resonance images taken at four time-points, from baseline to 12-months post-treatment. The odds of having transitional cysts were evaluated by logistic regression whereas Poisson regression was used to explore the numbers of transitional cysts, with generalised estimating equations (GEE) used to account for the multiple observations over time. After controlling for healthcare access, the odds of having transitional cysts were found to be 1.5-fold higher for the female patients than for the male, although this association was not statistically significant (P = 0.136). In the Poisson model, however, the number of transitional cysts was found to be 1.8-fold higher in the female patients than in the male, and this gender effect was not only statistically significant (P = 0.002) but also constant over time. The association of host age with transitional cysts was more complicated, with significant interaction between age and time. It therefore appears that there are significant gender and age differences in the local immune response to NCC, even after adjusting for differences in healthcare access.

Phenomenology of prolonged febrile seizures: results of the FEBSTAT study.

BACKGROUND: Febrile status epilepticus (FSE) has been associated with hippocampal injury and subsequent mesial temporal sclerosis and temporal lobe epilepsy. However, little is known about the semiology of FSE. METHODS: A prospective, multicenter study of the consequences of FSE included children, aged 1 month through 5 years, presenting with a febrile seizure lasting 30 minutes or more. Procedures included neurologic history and examination and an MRI and EEG within 72 hours. All information related to seizure semiology was reviewed by three epileptologists blinded to MRI and EEG results and to subsequent outcome. Inter-rater reliability was assessed by the kappa statistic. RESULTS: Among 119 children, the median age was 1.3 years, the mean peak temperature was 103.2 degrees F, and seizures lasted a median of 68.0 minutes. Seizure duration followed a Weibull distribution with a shape parameter of 1.68. Seizures were continuous in 52% and behaviorally intermittent (without recovery in between) in 48%; most were partial (67%) and almost all (99%) were convulsive. In one third of cases, FSE was unrecognized in the emergency department. Of the 119 children, 86% had normal development, 24% had prior febrile seizures, and family history of febrile seizures in a first-degree relative was present in 25%. CONCLUSIONS: Febrile status epilepticus is usually focal and often not well recognized. It occurs in very young children and is usually the first febrile seizure. Seizures are typically very prolonged and the distribution of seizure durations suggests that the longer a seizure continues, the less likely it is to spontaneously stop.

Effects of albendazole treatment on neurocysticercosis: a randomised controlled trial.

AIM: The aim of this trial was to evaluate the effects of albendazole (ALB) on cyst disappearance, reduction of the number of cysts and seizure recurrence. METHODS: 178 patients with new onset symptoms due to active or transitional neurocysticercosis were randomly assigned to receive either 800 mg of ALB daily or placebo for 8 days. All patients also received prednisone. Imaging studies were done at baseline and at months 1, 6 and 12 of follow-up. RESULTS: Active cysts were identified in 59 of 88 people randomised to ALB and 57 of the 90 in the placebo arm. By 1 month, 31% were free of active cysts in the treatment group compared with 7% in the placebo group (p = 0.001). In addition, the ALB group had a greater reduction in the number of active cysts compared with the placebo group (p = 0.001). After 1 month following treatment there was no additional gain by treatment group in the disappearance or reduction in the number of active cysts. ALB treatment had little effect on cysts in the transitional or calcification stage. We found no difference between the ALB and placebo groups in symptoms during treatment or in seizure recurrence during the 12 months after treatment. CONCLUSION: Albendazole plus symptomatic treatment leads to the disappearance of active cysts in 31% of patients compared with 7% of those with symptomatic treatment alone. This treatment effect occurs within the first 30 days after treatment. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT00283699.

Racial and ethnic disparities in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis: A UNOS/OPTN database analysis.

We previously reported poorer survival among non-Hispanic blacks and Hispanics with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) compared to non-Hispanic whites at our center. In the current study, we hypothesized that these disparities would exist in a nationwide cohort of wait-listed patients with IPF. We performed a retrospective cohort study of 2635 patients with IPF listed for lung transplantation between 1995 and 2003 at 94 transplant centers in the United States. The age-adjusted mortality rate was higher among non-Hispanic blacks [hazard ratio (HR) = 1.24, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.06-1.45, p = 0.009] and Hispanics (HR = 1.29, 95% CI 1.06-1.56, p = 0.01) compared to non-Hispanic whites. These findings persisted after adjustment for transplantation, medical comorbidities and socioeconomic status. Worse lung function at the time of listing appeared to explain some of these differences (HR for non-Hispanic blacks after adjustment for forced vital capacity percent predicted = 1.16, 95% CI 0.98-1.36, p = 0.09; HR for Hispanics = 1.21, 95% CI 0.99-1.48, p = 0.056). In summary, black and Hispanic patients with IPF have worse survival than whites after listing for lung transplant.

Long-term mortality after a first episode of status epilepticus.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate long-term mortality among people with status epilepticus (SE). METHODS: The authors performed a population-based retrospective cohort study to determine long-term mortality after SE. Between January 1, 1965, and December 31, 1984, all first episodes of SE receiving medical attention were ascertained through the Rochester Epidemiology Project Records-Linkage System. Cases surviving the first 30 days (n = 145) were followed until death or study termination (February 1996). RESULTS: At 10 years, cumulative mortality among 30-day survivors was 43%. The standardized mortality ratio (SMR) at 10 years was 2.8 (95% CI, 2.1-3.5). The mortality rate of those with idiopathic/cryptogenic SE was not increased (SMR = 1.1; 95% CI, 0.5-2.3). The following characteristics of SE increased long-term risk for mortality: SE > or = 24 hours in duration vs. SE < 2 hours (relative risk [RR] = 2.3; 95% CI, 1.1-5.1); acute symptomatic etiology vs idiopathic/cryptogenic etiology (RR = 2.2; 95% CI, 1.0-5.1) SE; myoclonic SE vs generalized convulsive SE (RR = 4.0; 95% CI, 1.3-13). CONCLUSION: Forty percent of subjects who survived the first 30 days after an incident episode of SE die within the next 10 years. The long-term mortality rate was threefold that of the general population over the same time period. The long-term mortality rate at 10 years was worse for those with myoclonic SE, for those who presented with SE lasting more than 24 hours, and for those with acute symptomatic SE. The long-term mortality rate was not altered in those with idiopathic/cryptogenic SE. We conclude that SE alone does not modify long-term mortality.

Relation between depression after coronary artery bypass surgery and 12-month outcome: a prospective study.

BACKGROUND: The association of depression with cardiac events has been investigated mainly in community cohorts, in patients undergoing catheterisation, or in patients who have had myocardial infarction. We have assessed the effect of depression on outcomes after coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery. METHODS: In a prospective study, we followed up for 1 year 207 men and 102 women, who had undergone coronary artery bypass graft surgery. We assessed depression with a structured psychiatric interview (diagnostic interview schedule) and a questionnaire (Beck depression inventory) before discharge. Cardiac events included angina or heart failure that needed admission to hospital, myocardial infarction, cardiac arrest, percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty, repeat CABG, and cardiac mortality. Non-cardiac events consisted of all other reasons for mortality or readmission. FINDINGS: 63 patients (20%) met modified diagnostic statistical manual IV criteria for major depressive disorder. At 12 months, 17 (27%) of these patients had a cardiac event compared with 25 of 246 (10%) who were not depressed (p<0.0008). Five variables had significant univariate associations with cardiac events: sex, living alone, low ejection fraction (<0.35), length of hospital stay, and depression. In a Cox proportional-hazard model with these five and two other variables of cardiac severity, major depressive disorder (risk ratio 2.3 [95% CI 1.17-4.56]), low ejection fraction (2.3 [1.07-5.03]), and female sex (2.4 [1.24-4.44]) were associated with adverse outcomes. Depression did not predict deaths or admissions for non-cardiac events. INTERPRETATION: Depression is an important independent risk factor for cardiac events after CABG surgery.

Salvage cryotherapy using an argon based system for locally recurrent prostate cancer after radiation therapy: the Columbia experience.

PURPOSE: Cryosurgical ablation of the prostate has been reported as potential treatment for radioresistant clinically localized prostate cancer. We report our experience with the safety and efficacy of salvage cryosurgery using the argon based CRYOCare system (Endocare, Inc, Irvine, California). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Between October 1997 and September 2000, 38 men with a mean age of 71.9 years underwent salvage cryosurgery for recurrent prostate cancer after radiation therapy failed. All patients had biochemical disease recurrence, defined as an increase in prostate specific antigen (PSA) of greater than 0.3 ng./ml. above the post-radiation PSA nadir. Subsequently prostate biopsy was positive for cancer. Pre-cryosurgery bone scan demonstrated no evidence of metastatic disease. In addition, these patients received 3 months of neoadjuvant androgen deprivation therapy before cryotherapy. RESULTS: The PSA nadir was 0.1 or less, 1 or less and greater than 1 ng./ml. in 31 (81.5%), 5 (13.2%) and 2 (5.3%) patients, respectively. Biochemical recurrence-free survival calculated from Kaplan-Meier curves was 86% at 1 year and 74% at 2 years. Reported complications included rectal pain in 39.5% of cases, urinary tract infection in 2.6%, incontinence in 7.9%, hematuria in 7.9% and scrotal edema in 10.5%. The rate of rectourethral fistula, urethral sloughing and urinary retention was 0%. CONCLUSIONS: Our study supports cryosurgery of the prostate as safe and effective treatment in patients in whom radiation therapy fails. Using the CRYOCare machine resulted in a marked decrease in complications.

Predicting analysis times in randomized clinical trials.

Randomized clinical trial designs commonly include one or more planned interim analyses. At these times an external monitoring committee reviews the accumulated data and determines whether it is scientifically and ethically appropriate for the study to continue. With failure-time endpoints, it is common to schedule analyses at the times of occurrence of specified landmark events, such as the 50th event, the 100th event, and so on. Because interim analyses can impose considerable logistical burdens, it is worthwhile predicting their timing as accurately as possible. We describe two model-based methods for making such predictions during the course of a trial. First, we obtain a point prediction by extrapolating the cumulative mortality into the future and selecting the date when the expected number of deaths is equal to the landmark number. Second, we use a Bayesian simulation scheme to generate a predictive distribution of milestone times; prediction intervals are quantiles of this distribution. We illustrate our method with an analysis of data from a trial of immunotherapy in the treatment of chronic granulomatous disease.

Enhanced stress reactivity in paediatric anxiety disorders: implications for future cardiovascular health.

The aim was to clarify the developmental nature of associations between psychiatric illness and risk for cardiovascular disease by investigating differences in cardiac functioning between youth with anxiety disorders and healthy controls. Twenty-two children meeting DSM-IV criteria for either separation anxiety disorder, overanxious disorder, panic disorder/panic attacks, or social phobia and 12 healthy controls underwent continuous electrocardiogram and respiration rate monitoring during a 15 min baseline period and 15 min of exposure to 5% CO(2). Heart rate (HR) and high frequency heart rate variability (HRV), a non-invasive measure of cardiac parasympathetic control, were calculated. Youth with anxiety disorders had higher and less fluctuating HR during baseline. Data also suggested that probands showed diminished overall changes in HRV during baseline and CO(2) inhalation relative to controls. However, as respiration rate affects HRV, these findings were confounded by changes in respiration elicited by CO(2) inhalation. The data suggest that youth with anxiety disorders experience an elevated and less fluctuating HR in the face of a novel situation, possibly due to a failure to appropriately modulate HRV. In adults, sustained elevations in HR in conjunction with deficient vagal modulation predicts risk for future cardiovascular disease. As such, the current data suggest that the presence of an anxiety disorder may identify youth who exhibit autonomic profiles that place them at risk for cardiac disease.

Reduction of paclitaxel-induced peripheral neuropathy with glutamine.

PURPOSE: Dose-limiting toxicity of many newer chemotherapeutic agents is peripheral neuropathy. Prior attempts to reduce this side effect have been unsuccessful. We report on the possible successful reduction of peripheral neuropathy with glutamine administration after high-dose paclitaxel. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: Patients entered a high-dose chemotherapy protocol in which the first high-dose cycle was paclitaxel at 825 mg/m(2) given over 24 h. The first cohort of patients did not receive glutamine, and the second cohort of patients received glutamine at 10 g orally three times a day for 4 days starting 24 h after completion of paclitaxel. Neurological assessment was performed at baseline, and at least 2 weeks after paclitaxel, and consisted of a complete neurological exam and nerve conduction studies. RESULTS: There were paired pre- and post-paclitaxel evaluations on 33 patients who did not receive glutamine and 12 patients who did. The median interval between pre- and post-exams was 32 days. For patients who received glutamine, there was a statistically significant reduction in the severity of peripheral neuropathy as measured by development of moderate to severe dysesthesias and numbness in the fingers and toes (P < 0.05). The degree and incidence of motor weakness was reduced (56 versus 25%; P = 0.04) as well as deterioration in gait (85 versus 45%; P = 0.016) and interference with activities of daily living (85 versus 27%; P = 0.001). Moderate to severe paresthesias in the fingers and toes were also reduced (55 versus 42% and 64 versus 50%, respectively), although this value was not statistically significant. All of these toxicities were reversible over time. CONCLUSIONS: Glutamine may reduce the severity of peripheral neuropathy associated with high-dose paclitaxel; however, results from randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trials will be needed to fully assess its impact, if any. Trials are currently ongoing to assess its efficacy for standard-dose paclitaxel in breast cancer and other tumors for which peripheral neuropathy is the dose-limiting toxicity.

Hostility, gender, and cardiac autonomic control.

OBJECTIVE: Although considerable evidence implicates hostility in the development of coronary artery disease (CAD), the pathogenic mechanisms remain poorly understood. We have developed a psychophysiological model that holds that altered autonomic nervous system function links psychological traits with CAD outcomes. In laboratory studies, stressors reduce high-frequency (HF) heart period variability, an index of cardiac vagal modulation. With ambulatory electrocardiographic recording, we demonstrated in a predominantly male sample that hostility was inversely associated with HF power, but only during waking hours. These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that hostile individuals experience multiple stressful interpersonal transactions each day, resulting in overall lower HF power during the day but not at night. METHODS: To further evaluate this hypothesis, we screened 96 subjects using the Cook-Medley Hostility Scale and selected 15 men and 15 women representing a wide distribution of hostility. These subjects were studied in a laboratory session assessing reactivity to psychological and orthostatic challenges with continuous electrocardiographic, blood pressure, and respiration monitoring. We predicted that for men and women, hostility would be inversely related to reductions in HF power in response to challenge. RESULTS: In response to mental stressors, all measures of heart period variability change were inversely related to hostility as predicted. No such relationships were found for responses to tilt. The data suggested a possible effect of gender on these relationships. CONCLUSIONS: These data add to the growing body of evidence showing that hostility influences vagal modulation of the cardiovascular system and suggest that altered autonomic control is a pathogenic mechanism linking hostility and CAD.

Physiologic responses to cognitive challenge during pregnancy: effects of task and repeat testing.

Physiological responses to stress during pregnancy are believed to influence birth outcomes. Researchers have studied pregnant women in laboratory stressor paradigms to investigate these associations, yet normative data on cardiovascular and respiratory responses to laboratory challenge during pregnancy are not yet established. To begin to establish such normative data, this study examined the effects of task and repeat stressor exposure on reactivity in third-trimester pregnant women. Thirty-one healthy pregnant women (mean age=27 years; range 18-36) between the 33rd and 39th week of pregnancy, were instrumented for continuous electrocardiography, blood pressure (BP), and respiration data. Subjects rested quietly for a 5-min baseline and then performed both a mental arithmetic stressor and a Stroop color-word-matching task, each 5 min in length and each followed by a 5-min recovery period. The order of the tasks was counterbalanced. After each 5-min period, subjects rated the period on a 10-point stress scale. Averaged across task type and challenge period, systolic and diastolic BP and respiration rate increased significantly in response to cognitive challenge, but heart rate (HR) did not. When data were examined for task and period effects, the following results emerged: the Stroop task elicited significantly greater systolic BP and HR reactivity than the arithmetic task, yet subjects rated the arithmetic task as more stressful. Averaged across task type, subjects showed greater systolic BP reactivity during the second challenge period compared to the first. Finally, women's BP tended to drift upward and did not return to baseline during the first recovery period. These findings indicate that averaging data across tasks and periods can obscure the time course of response patterns that may be important in the study of associations between maternal stress and perinatal development, as well as in other research on reactivity to repeat stress exposure.

Which patients with newly diagnosed prostate cancer need a radionuclide bone scan? An analysis based on 631 patients.

PURPOSE: Although radionuclide bone scans are frequently recommended as part of the staging evaluation for newly diagnosed prostate cancer, most scans are negative for metastases. We hypothesized that Gleason score, prostate-specific antigen (PSA), and clinical stage could predict for a positive bone scan (BS), and that a low-risk group of patients could be identified in whom BS might be omitted. METHODS: All patients who had both pathologic review of their prostate cancer biopsies and radionuclide BS at our institution between 1/90 and 5/96 were studied. Gleason score, PSA, and clinical stage (AJCC, 4th edition) were evaluated by univariate and multivariate analyses for their ability to predict a positive BS. Groups analyzed were Gleason of 2-6 vs. 7 vs. 8-10; PSA of 0-15 vs. greater than 15-50 vs. greater than 50; and clinical stage of T1a-T2b vs. T2c-T4. Univariate analysis using chi(2) and multivariate analysis using logistic regression were performed. RESULTS: Of the 631 consecutive patients, 88 (14%) had positive BS. Multivariate analysis (64 excluded due to missing PSA and/or clinical stage) showed Gleason score, PSA, and clinical stage to be significant independent predictors for positive BS (p < 0.002, p < 0.001, p < 0.001, respectively). The odds ratios were 5.25 (confidence interval [CI], 3.43-8.04) for PSA > 50 vs. 0-15; 2.25 (CI, 1.43-3.54) for Gleason of 8-10 vs. 2-6; 2.15 (CI, 1.54-2.99) for clinical stage T2c-T4 vs. T2b or less. Three of 308 (1%) had a positive BS in patients with Gleason 2-7, PSA of 50 or less, and clinical stage of T2b or less. In the subset of the same risk group with PSA of 15 or less, all 237 had negative bone scans. In patients with PSA greater than 50, 49/99(49.5%) had positive BS. CONCLUSION: Gleason score, PSA, and clinical stage were independent predictors for a positive radionuclide BS in newly diagnosed prostate cancer patients. PSA is the major predictor for positive BS. About one-half of the patients analyzed were in the low-risk group (Gleason 2-7, PSA < or = 50, clinical stage < or = T2b) and elimination of BS in these patients would result in considerable economic savings.

Factors predicting for postimplantation urinary retention after permanent prostate brachytherapy.

PURPOSE: Urinary retention requiring catheterization is a known complication among prostate cancer patients treated with permanent interstitial radioactive seed implantation. However, the factors associated with this complication are not well known. This study was conducted to determine these factors. METHODS AND MATERIALS: Ninety-one consecutive prostate cancer patients treated with permanent interstitial implantation at our institution from 1996 to 1999 were evaluated. All patients underwent pre-implant ultrasound and postimplant CT volume studies. Isotopes used were (125)I (54 patients) or (103)Pd (37 patients). Twenty-three patients were treated with a combination of 45 Gy of external beam radiation therapy as well as seed implantation, of which only 3 patients were treated with (125)I. Mean pretreatment prostate ultrasound volume was 35.4 cc (range, 10.0-70.2 cc). The mean planning ultrasound target volume (PUTV) was 39.6 cc (range, 16.1-74.5 cc), whereas the mean posttreatment CT target volume was 55.0 cc (range, 20.2-116 cc). Patient records were reviewed to determine which patients required urinary catheterization for relief of urinary obstruction. The following factors were analyzed as predictors for urinary retention: clinical stage; Gleason score; prostate-specific antigen; external beam radiation therapy; hormone therapy; pre-implant urinary symptoms (asymptomatic/nocturia x 1 vs. more significant urinary symptoms); pretreatment ultrasound prostate volume; PUTV; PUTV within the 125%, 150%, 200%, 250%, 300% isodose lines; postimplant CT volume within the 125%, 150%, 200%, 250%, 300% isodose lines; D90; D80; D50; ratio of post-CT volume to the PUTV; the absolute change in volume between the CT volume and PUTV; number of needles used; activity per seed; and the total activity of the implant. Statistical analyses using logistic regression and chi2 were performed. RESULTS: Eleven of 91 (12%) became obstructed. Significant factors predicting for urinary retention were the total number of needles used (p < 0.038); the pretreatment ultrasound prostate volume (p < 0.048); the PUTV (p < 0.02); and the posttreatment CT volume (p < 0.021). Two of 51 patients (3.9%) requiring 33 or fewer needles (median) experienced obstruction vs. 9 of 40 (22.5%) requiring more than 33 (p < 0.007). If the pretreatment ultrasound prostate volume was 35 cc or less (median), 3 of 43 (7%) vs. 8 of 36 (22%) with a volume greater than 35 cc experienced obstruction (p < 0.051). CONCLUSION: The number of needles required (perhaps related to trauma to the prostate) and the prostate volumes were significant factors predicting for urinary retention after permanent prostate seed implantation.

Clinical application of NMP22 in the management of transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder.

The combination of a noninvasive, quantitative immunoassay, NMP22, with voided urinary cytology prior to cystoscopy was evaluated in patients with urothelial transitional cell carcinoma. Fifty-six patients with a history of transitional cell carcinoma were evaluated. Voided urine was obtained for NMP22 and cytology prior to cystoscopy. One hundred and twenty-three NMP22 assays, 124 cytologies, and 124 cystoscopies were performed. The type of anesthesia used for cystoscopic evaluation was determined by the NMP22 value in 30 patients. Cystoscopy results were considered positive on biopsy-confirmed malignancy. The reference value used for NMP22 was 10.0 U/ml. NMP22, cytology, and the combination of NMP22 and cytology were compared to cystoscopy and to pathologic grading and staging. Thirty-four recurrent transitional cell carcinoma episodes occurred; 22 were low-grade (I-II), and 12 were high-grade (III-IV). Twenty-seven were stage Ta; four were T1; and three were T3b or 4. Within this group, NMP22 detected low- and high-grade tumors equally, as compared to cytology, which was sensitive only to high-grade tumors. Nineteen patients were NMP22-negative and underwent cystoscopy under topical anesthesia; 17 were tumor-free. Eleven patients were NMP22-positive and had anesthesia, and all had visible lesions, which were subjected to biopsy and were resected. Six lesions were tumors, five were inflammatory. Overall sensitivity of combined NMP22 and cytology was 70%; specificity was 72%; positive predictive value was 54%; and negative predictive value was 77%. An accurate assessment of the risk of a bladder cancer can be obtained with NMP22, cytology, and cystoscopy in patients with a history of bladder cancer. NMP22 values can be used to determine the level of anesthesia for cystoscopy in patients with a history of bladder cancer.