Minimally invasive management of biliary tract injury following percutaneous nephrolithotomy.

INTRODUCTION: Percutaneous nephrolithotomy is generally considered a safe option for the management of large complex or infectious upper urinary tract calculi. Biliary tract injury is a rare and potentially serious complication of percutaneous nephrolithotomy that can even lead to mortality, especially in cases where biliary peritonitis develops. All reported cases of biliary tract injury have been managed by either open or laparoscopic cholecystectomy. CASE PRESENTATION: Herein for the first time, we report a 39-year old woman with biliary tract injury following percutaneous nephrolithotomy who was managed less invasively by insertion of a percutaneous cholecystostomy tube. The patient was discharged home shortly thereafter, and the tube was later removed at a follow up visit after a normal cholangiogram. CONCLUSIONS: Biliary tract injury is a rare and potentially serious complication of percutaneous nephrolithotomy that can even lead to mortality. If a biliary tract injury is suspected during percutaneous renal procedures, diverting the bile away from the leak may resolve the problem without the need for a cholecystectomy. Ideally this can be done with ERCP and a stent, but in cases where this is not technically feasible; a percutaneous cholecystostomy can be successful at accomplishing the same result.

Outcomes following negative prostate biopsy for patients with persistent disease after radiotherapy for prostate cancer.

PURPOSE: When faced with biochemical recurrence after definitive radiotherapy for prostate cancer, clinicians must determine whether the recurrence is local or systemic. Post radiotherapy prostate biopsies to detect persistent local disease are difficult to interpret histopathologically and are subject to sampling error. Our study examines outcomes for patients with a negative prostate biopsy performed for rising prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels after prostate radiation. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We performed a retrospective review of 238 prostate cancer patients with a negative biopsy following definitive radiotherapy. Seventy-five of these patients had biochemical recurrence at the time of biopsy. A negative biopsy was defined as the absence of prostate cancer without radiation-treatment effect in the specimen. RESULTS: Patients underwent biopsy at a mean of 41 months after the completion of radiation. They had a mean PSA of 6. Patients were followed for an average of 63 months. Thirty-two patients (43%) developed metastasis, and 11 (15%) died of prostate cancer despite a negative post-radiation biopsy. Five of nine patients (56%) with sequential biopsies had a positive second biopsy. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with PSA recurrence and a negative post-radiation biopsy have a high chance of persistent local disease, progression, and death from prostate cancer. Furthermore, an initial negative biopsy does not rule-out local recurrence. Patients with biochemical recurrence after radiotherapy for prostate cancer need to be evaluated earlier for local recurrence.

Outcomes following negative prostate biopsy for patients with persistent disease after radiotherapy for prostate cancer

Purpose: When faced with biochemical recurrence after definitive radiotherapy for prostate cancer, clinicians must determine whether the recurrence is local or systemic. Post radiotherapy prostate biopsies to detect persistent local disease are difficult to interpret histopathologically and are subject to sampling error. Our study examines outcomes for patients with a negative prostate biopsy performed for rising prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels after prostate radiation. Materials and methods: We performed a retrospective review of 238 prostate cancer patients with a negative biopsy following definitive radiotherapy. Seventy-five of these patients had biochemical recurrence at the time of biopsy. A negative biopsy was defined as the absence of prostate cancer without radiation-treatment effect in the specimen. Results: Patients underwent biopsy at a mean of 41 months after the completion of radiation. They had a mean PSA of 6. Patients were followed for an average of 63 months. Thirty-two patients (43 percent) developed metastasis, and 11 (15 percent) died of prostate cancer despite a negative post-radiation biopsy. Five of nine patients (56 percent) with sequential biopsies had a positive second biopsy. Conclusions: Patients with PSA recurrence and a negative post-radiation biopsy have a high chance of persistent local disease, progression, and death from prostate cancer. Furthermore, an initial negative biopsy does not rule-out local recurrence. Patients with biochemical recurrence after radiotherapy for prostate cancer need to be evaluated earlier for local recurrence.

Racial differences in clinical progression among Medicare recipients after treatment for localized prostate cancer (United States).

OBJECTIVE: Prostate cancer recurrence impacts patient quality of life and risk of prostate-cancer specific death following definitive treatment. We investigate differences in disease-free survival among white, black, Hispanic, and Asian patients in a large, population-based database. METHODS: Merged Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program (SEER) and Medicare files provided data on 23,353 white patients, 2,814 black patients, 480 Hispanic patients, and 566 Asian patients diagnosed at age 65-84 years with clinically localized prostate cancer between 1986 and 1996 in five SEER sites. Patients were followed through 1998. Racial differences in disease-free survival were assessed using Kaplan-Meier survival curves and Cox regression models. RESULTS: The 75th percentile disease-free survival time for black patients was 13 months less than that for white patients (95% confidence interval [CI]: 6.2-19.8 months), 29.7 months less than that for Hispanic patients (95% CI: 4.4-55.0 months), and 39.1 months less than that for Asian patients (95% CI: 12.1-66.1 months). In multivariate analysis, black race predicted shorter disease-free survival among surgery patients, but not among radiation patients. CONCLUSIONS: Black patients experienced shorter disease-free survival compared to white, Hispanic, and Asian patients, and the disease-free survival of white, Hispanic, and Asian patients were not statistically different. Earlier recurrence of prostate cancer may help explain black patients' increased risk of mortality from prostate cancer.