[EFFECTS OF COMBINATION THERAPY WITH VIBEGRON FOR ANTICHOLINERGIC-RESISTANT PEDIATRIC NEUROGENIC BLADDER].

(Objective) We report the effectiveness of combination therapy with vibegron in pediatric patients with neurogenic bladder inadequately responding to anticholinergic agents. (Subjects and methods) This retrospective study involved 13 pediatric patients with neurogenic bladder treated with anticholinergics at our department from November 2019 to January 2021 who had an inadequate response and received combination therapy with vibegron. Changes in the volume of urinary incontinence before and after the use of vibegron reported during interviews from the 13 patients were compared. In addition, bladder capacity at the end of examination, bladder capacity at the end of examination/expected bladder capacity (EBC), and bladder compliance were compared using the Wilcoxon signed rank test in 9 patients for whom urodynamics (UDS) or video urodynamics (VUDS) was performed before and after introduction of vibegron. (Results) The 13 patients comprised 8 boys and 5 girls. The median age was 13 years (range, 5-18 years). Underlying diseases included 9 cases of spina bifida, 1 case of Hinman syndrome, 1 case of cervical vertebra injury, 1 case of idiopathic cervical epidural hematoma combined with spina bifida, and 1 case of spinal cord infarction. Eight of the 13 patients experienced decrease in urinary incontinence after the introduction of vibegron. All 9 patients who underwent UDS or VUDS before and after introduction of vibegron displayed significant differences in bladder capacity at the end of the examination, bladder capacity at the end of the examination/EBC, and bladder compliance, indicating improvement. (Conclusion) Combination therapy with vibegron is effective for pediatric patients with neurogenic bladder who have inadequately responded to anticholinergic agents.

Recovery of bowel function after transperitoneal or retroperitoneal laparoscopic pyeloplasty. A multi-center study.

AIM: To document the recovery of bowel function (BF) in children after transperitoneal (TP) or retroperitoneal (RP) laparoscopic pyeloplasty. METHODS: Data were obtained retrospectively from four centers between 2008 and 2019 for TP (n = 51) and RP (n = 58). Each surgeon chose which technique to perform. RESULTS: Subject demographics were not significantly different. Differences in operative times were not significant (RP: 241 min versus TP: 225 min). Mean duration/requirement for postoperative epidural/intravenous analgesia were not significantly different (TP: 1.4 days versus RP: 1.3 days) and (TP: 66.7% versus RP: 67.2%), respectively. Postoperative nasogastric (NG) intubation was more common in RP (TP: 19.6% versus RP: 44.8%; p < .05). NG aspiration (TP: 0.15 mL/kg/hr versus RP: 0.16 mL/kg/hr), nausea (TP: 31.4% versus RP: 17.2%), and vomiting (TP: 19.6% versus RP: 15.5%) were not significantly different. There were no perioperative complications (including ileus). Abdominal distention was problematic in one case per group (TP: 2.0% versus RP: 1.7%). Times for oral liquid (TP: 0.69 day versus RP: 0.83 day), solid food (TP: 0.88 day versus RP 1.07 days), and the first bowel movement (TP: 2.86 days versus RP: 2.79 days), were not significantly different. CONCLUSIONS: BF recovery would appear to be consistent, independent of technique.

The usefulness of ultrasound examination in detecting testicular nubbin in Japanese boys with non-palpable testes.

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVE: In the case of non-palpable testes, we often find a small nodule which is called "testicular nubbin (TN)" in scrotum or inguinal canal. There is no agreement about the treatment for TN. This time we investigated whether or not ultrasound examination (US) can be a useful modality for detecting TN. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We recruited 66 boys who were diagnosed with non-palpable testes and who had undergone US studies. We examined age, affected side, size of the unaffected side, presence of testicular hypertrophy, and findings from US studies. Radiologists or sonographers familiar with examination of testicular nubbin carried out the ultrasound studies. When TN is detected in a patient, preservation or excision of the TN was chosen by their families. RESULTS: Sixty-six boys and 76 testes were examined. Thirty-four testes (44.7%) were diagnosed as having TN, 39 (51.3%) were undescended testes, and 3 (3.9%) were retractile testes. The median age of all participants was 13 months (range: 2-118 months). The mean ages of patients with TN, undescended testes, and retractile testes were 7.6 months, 14.5 months and 55 months, respectively. The size ratio between the affected and unaffected sides in cases of TN was 0.144 (range; 0.03-0.48) and in cases of undescended testes was 0.99 (0.46-1.2). Thirty cases of TN (88.2%) had testicular hypertrophy on the unaffected side. Only one case of TN underwent excision; viable cells were not seen. A high US region was observed in 31 (91.1%) cases with TN. CONCLUSION: US was a useful modality for detecting TN. From this study, TN can be detected if the size ratio between the affected and unaffected sides is < 0.4 and a high US region is seen. If TN can be detected using US, preservation can recommended, preventing unnecessary surgeries. However, there is no evidence on the required duration and interval of follow-up for these cases and examination will be needed over a period of time.

[Acute renal failure due to obstructive ureteral stone associated with norovirus gastroenteritis in an infant with congenital solitary kidney].

We report a 35 month-old boy with acute renal failure caused by an obstructive ureteral stone associated with norovirus gastroenteritis. He visited his family physician because of fever, abdominal pain and vomiting. He was diagnosed as acute gastroenteritis. The symptoms relieved once, but abdominal pain and vomiting recurred two days after the visit and the volume of urine decreased. He was diagnosed as norovirus gastoenteritis and acute renal failure which was unresponsive to fluid replacement. Ultrasound study of the abdomen showed a solitary kidney with mild hydronephrosis. He was then admitted to our hospital. He was finally diagnosed as acute postrenal failure due to obstructive ureteral stone with left solitary kidney by abdominal computer tomography (CT). We performed transurethral catheterization immediately. The creatinine and blood urea nitrogen returned to normal level in 2 days. The CT performed on the 28th day post operation showed disappearance of the stone after uric alkalization. Recently, some cases of postrenal failure due to bilateral obstructive ureteral stones, mainly ammonium acid urate stones, associated with viral gastroenteritis were reported. As clinical features, they are common in boys three years or younger after an episode of rotavirus gastroenteritis with high uric acid concentration. By far, the most common cause of acute renal failure in patients with severe gastroenteritis is prerenal failure resulting from hypovolemia. But postrenal cause due to bilateral obstructive stones should be taken in a consideration.

[Propiverine hydrochloride improved correlatively subjective QOL and objective findings in Japanese patients with urinary frequency and/or incontinence].

To investigate how urinary frequency and incontinence affect the patient's subjective quality of life (QOL) and whether an improvement in objective findings by medical treatment affects his/her subjective QOL, a voiding diary using the King's Health Questionnaire (KHQ) and International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire-Short Form (ICIQ-SF) was delivered to patients with urinary frequency and/or incontinence before and after treatment with propiverine hydrochloride for 8 weeks. Sixty-eight patients completed the diary and the questionnaires. Objective symptoms decreased significantly with respect to the mean frequency of urination and to the mean incidence of urinary incontinence. The KHQ and ICIQ-SF scores improved significantly with respect to all domains except personal relationships in the KHQ. In the KHQ, furthermore, a significant correlation was found between decreased incidence of urinary incontinence and improvement in role limitations and between decreased incidence of urinary incontinence and improvement in emotional problems. In the ICIQ-SF, a significant correlation was found between decreased incidence of urinary frequency and subjective improvement in quantity of leakage, between decreased incidence of urinary frequency and improvement in subjective QOL scores, between decreased incidence of urinary frequency and improvement in the total ICIQ-SF score, and between decreased incidence of urinary incontinence and improvement in subjective QOL scores. Thirty-two episodes of adverse reactions were observed. None of them were serious. These results suggest that an improvement in objective symptoms with propiverine hydrochloride favorably improves subjective QOL of the patient, and provide further evidence about the safety and efficacy of propiverine hydrochloride.

[Clinical analysis of double cancer involving bladder and prostate].

Between January 1989 and March 2002, we treated 299 male bladder cancer patients and 416 prostatic cancer patients. Of these, 17 patients (5.7% of the male bladder cancer patients and 4.1% of the prostatic cancer patients) had double cancer consisting of prostatic cancer and bladder cancer. The mean age at diagnosis of the first and second cancer was 71.6 years and 75.5 years, respectively. Of the 8 patients with synchronous tumors, 3 patients had latent prostate cancer when they underwent total cystoprostatectomy. The mean interval between the first and second cancer was 45.3 months. The mean follow-up period was 84.7 months (ranged from 5 to 324 months) and two patients died of cancer (bladder: 1, prostate: 1). In the literature, the coincidence of bladder cancer and prostatic cancer is the highest in the urological field. In follow up of either of these cancer patients, it is important to be aware of not only progression of the first cancer but also generation of a second cancer.

Inguinal metastasis of a bladder mixed carcinoma with predominant adenocarcinoma component.

We report a case of urinary bladder mixed carcinoma with inguinal metastasis. Histological examination of the transurethral resection specimens revealed adenocarcinoma with small foci of squamous and transitional cell carcinomas. A right inguinal metastasis occurred 1 year after radical cystourethrectomy. Chemotherapy and radiotherapy were performed but the metastatic tumor remained unchanged.

Renal oncocytosis.

Renal oncocytosis is a rare disorder in which numerous oncocytic nodules develop in the kidney. An additional case is reported here. The patient was a 51-year-old woman who had received hemodialysis for 27 years. Nineteen years previously she had developed a tumorous lesion in the right kidney, which had been diagnosed as oncocytoma with laparotomic biopsy. Recently the kidney was removed because of enlargement of the tumor. The renal parenchyma was entirely replaced with numerous brownish nodules. Histologically, the nodules were composed of nests of uniform oncocytic cells. Ultrastructurally, the oncocytic cells contained numerous mitochondria. Immunohistochemical features of the nodules were identical to those of sporadic oncocytomas, that is, immunophenotypes similar to the distal nephron and reactivity with antimitochondrial antigen. Based on these findings, the lesion was diagnosed as renal oncocytosis. It was not possible to determine whether the larger nodules should be diagnosed as oncocytoma or a part of oncocytosis. Additionally, the germ line mutation of the Birt-Hogg-Dubé (BHD) syndrome gene was examined using the genomic DNA obtained from the peripheral lymphocytes, which failed to show any gene alteration. Despite the rare occurrence pathologists and urologists should be aware of renal oncocytosis, as a precursor lesion of renal oncocytoma and chromophobe renal cell carcinoma.

[Three cases of pulmonary hamartoma appearing after radical nephrectomy for renal cell carcinoma].

We report 3 patients with pulmonary hamartoma, all of whom had undergone nephrectomy for renal cell carcinoma. A lung tumor was detected 2 to 9-months following nephrectomy. Preoperative diagnosis was pulmonary metastasis from renal cell carcinoma and pulmonary tumor resection was performed in each case. There was a 9- to 12-month interval between the detection and resection of the lung tumor. The histological diagnosis of the lung tumor in all three patient was pulmonary hamartoma. Following the resection of the lung tumor, recurrence was not noted in any of the patients.

[The significance of urine cytology three consecutive days after transurethral resection as a predictor of superficial bladder cancer recurrence].

To determine whether there was any correlation between recurrence of superficial bladder cancer and the results of urinary cytology examined for 3 consecutive days after transurethral resection of the bladder cancer (TURBT), we retrospectively studied 64 patients with newly diagnosed Ta/T1 transitional cell carcinoma (TCC) of the bladder who had previously undergone TURBT. Urine cytology samples were reported as negative (class I, II) or positive (class III, IV, V). We used the Kaplan-Meier method to calculate the non-recurrence rate, and Cox-proportional hazard models to determine the prognostic significance of clinical and pathological findings. If any sample among the three consecutive cytology examinations was positive, we defined the case as positive. After a mean follow up of 19.5 months, 22 cases (34.4%) demonstrated recurrence probabilities of 24.1% and 42.3%, at 12 and 24 months, respectively. Of the positive cytology group (n = 33), 15 patients (45.5%) had recurrent tumor, while in the negative group (n = 31), only 7 cases (22.6%) developed recurrence. Multivarite analysis demonstrated that tumor size (p = 0.0022, Hazard ratio 8.9316), result of urine cytology for three consecutive days after TUR (p = 0.0051, Hazard ratio 4.5728), and age (p = 0.0124, Hazard ratio 3.7652) were associated with tumor recurrence. We suggest that positive results on urinary cytology for three consecutive days after TUR are indicative for tumor recurrence.

[Squamous cell carcinoma of the ureter arising seventeen years after total cystectomy for squamous cell carcinoma of the bladder: a case report].

We report a case of squamous cell carcinoma of the ureter. A 62-year-old woman had undergone total cystectomy and ileal conduit because of squamous cell carcinoma of the bladder when she was 44 years old. Seventeen years later, she complained of edema and oliguria. Antegrade pyelography and loopography revealed a left ureteral tumor. She underwent left ureterectomy and extirpation of the conduit. Pathological diagnosis was moderately differentiated squamous cell carcinoma of the ureter, pT2. The patient is alive without recurrence or metastasis in the first year after surgery.

[Two cases of retroperitoneal liposarcoma arisen from perirenal fat tissue, which could not be diagnosed preoperatively].

We report two cases of retroperitoneal liposarcoma arisen from the perirenal fat tissue, which could not be diagnosed preoperatively. Case 1 is a 58-year-old male. He complained of left flank tumor. Computed tomography and magnetic resonance image showed a mass over 10 cm that contained fat components in the retroperitoneal space. The tumor was resected with left nephrectomy and histological examination revealed well differentiated liposarcoma. As adjuvant therapy, he received chemotherapy and 30 months has passed uneventfully. Case 2 is a 70-year-old male. Screening ultrasonography revealed incidental retroperitoneal tumor. With clinical diagnosis as non-functioning adrenal tumor, he received left nephrectomy. The pathological diagnosis was well differentiated liposarcoma, sclerosing type. No adjuvant therapy was performed. He has stopped visiting our clinic due to aggravation of heart disease. The characteristics of the images of the two cases were different despite the histological resemblance. This difference was considered to be due to the difference in the distribution of lipomatous tissue in each patient.

[Results of adjuvant intravesical Bacillus Calmette-Guérin therapy for grade 3 superficial bladder cancer].

To examine the incidence of recurrence, progression and survival in patients with grade 3 superficial bladder cancer after transurethral resection (TUR) and adjuvant intravesical instillation of Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG), we retrospectively studied 39 patients with grade 3 superficial bladder cancer. Nineteen patients with high-grade superficial bladder cancer (pTa, pT1) and 5 patients with grade 3 carcinoma in situ (CIS) received intravesical instillation of BCG after transurethral resection of the bladder tumor (BCG group and CIS-BCG group). The Tokyo 172 strain BCG was given for 8 weeks, as a rule, in a dose of 80 mg in 40 ml of saline instilled into the bladder. As a control, 15 patients with grade 3 superficial bladder cancer who did not receive BCG therapy after TUR were compared (non-BCG group). Of the BCG group (n=19), 4 patients (21.1%) had recurrent tumor and 3 had invasive progression after BCG therapy and died as a result of tumor progression, while in the non-BCG group (n=15), 8 cases (53.3%) developed recurrence, only one case had progression and died of cancer. In the CIS-BCG group (n=5), 3 patients (60.0%) had recurrent tumor and 2 had invasive progression. Univariate analysis (Logrank test) demonstrated that tumor size and adjuvant instillation of BCG were associated with tumor recurrence except for carcinoma in situ, but tumor progression and survival did not differ significantly. Our results suggest that BCG therapy prevents grade 3 superficial bladder cancer (pT1, pTa) recurrence.

[Spontaneous rupture of the ureter caused by metastatic ureteric tumor: a case report].

A 66-year-old man was admitted to our hospital with left flank pain. Drip infusion pyelography (DIP) and abdominal computed tomography (CT) showed urinary extravasation. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and retrograde pyelography (RP) demonstrated stenosis of the ureter. Left nephroureterectomy was performed. Histopathological examination showed poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma, located in the ureteral wall with intact mucosa and adventitia. After the operation, sigmiod colon carcinoma was pointed out by colon fiberscope, and sigmoidectomy was performed.