Percutaneous nephrolithotomy in children.

Percutaneous nephrolithotomy was performed on 18 children with renal calculi. No mortality resulted from this procedure and hemorrhage was the major complication. At the end of treatment 67% of the patients were stone-free and 82% of targeted stones were removed. Percutaneous nephrolithotomy can be considered a successful treatment in the management of the pediatric patient with renal calculi.

Clinical evaluation of flutamide and estramustine as initial treatment of metastatic carcinoma of prostate.

The efficacy and side effects of flutamide were compared with estramustine in patients with advanced prostatic carcinoma. Thirty patients with metastatic cancers but with no serious cardiovascular (CV) conditions were randomly assigned to receive treatment either with flutamide (250 mg X 3) or with estramustine (280 mg X 2). Clinical examination, bone scan, laboratory measurements, including coagulation studies were performed prior to randomization, every three months during year one, and at six-month intervals thereafter. The two groups were comparable with respect to age and tumor characteristics. However, more patients presented with skeletal pain among those later treated with flutamide. During an observation period of between one and two and one-half years, flutamide was discontinued in 1 case (7%) because of icterus, and estramustine in 3 cases (20%) because of CV complications. Of the remaining 14 flutamide-treated patients, 13 responded initially. Eleven of them relapsed, and 5 died of cancer. In the corresponding group of 12 estramustine-treated patients, there were 11 primary responders. Of these, only 2 relapsed and died as did the only nonresponder. The difference between the two groups with regard to relapse is significant (P less than 0.01), but not with regard to mortality. All estramustine-treated patients lost their libido, whereas only 20 per cent of the patients treated with flutamide did so. In the present limited material there was an initial favorable response to flutamide without signs of CV complications and with maintained libido in most cases. However, due to significantly increased risk for relapse compared with estramustine, flutamide cannot be recommended as single therapy except in cases where estrogens are contraindicated or when interference with libido and potency is unacceptable.

Bladder function in spinal anaesthesia.

Spinal anaesthesia with bupivacaine (22.5 mg) or with a glucose-containing solution of bupivacaine (20 mg) or tetracaine (15 mg) was given to 21 patients allocated randomly to these three groups. A urodynamic study was performed by CO2 cystometry. It consisted of recording of first sensation of bladder filling, sensation of full bladder, strength of maximal detrusor contraction, bladder capacity and urethral pressure. At the same time, using a quantitative method for measuring muscle strength, the motor block was evaluated for three separate movements--hip flexion, knee extension and plantar flexion of the big toe. After the spinal injection, the micturition reflex was rapidly blocked. One minute after the injection, eight patients experienced no strong desire to void when the bladder was overfilled, and 5 min after the injection bladder paralysis was present in most patients. The length of time from spinal injection to complete recovery of detrusor strength was 7-8 h and did not differ significantly between the three groups. The level of analgesia lay at or caudal to L5 when the detrusor strength returned. On the average, sensibility (pin-prick) in the sacral segments returned simultaneously with or somewhat earlier than complete recovery of detrusor strength. The muscle strength in the lower limbs was fully restored 40-140 min, on average, before the detrusor strength had completely recovered. There was good correlation between the time of full restoration of hip flexion and detrusor strength in the bupivacaine groups. Urethral pressure was reduced by a mean of 48% and returned to normal either at the same time as or slightly before complete recovery of detrusor strength.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

High-dose medroxyprogesterone in the treatment of advanced therapy-resistant prostatic carcinoma.

In a preliminary study we have administered medroxyprogesterone acetate to 20 patients with advanced metastatic prostatic cancer, who no longer responded to previous therapy. The dose used was 1,000 mg intramuscularly three times a week for 5 weeks, followed by 1,000 mg weekly until progression. All patients had undergone orchidectomy or had been treated with estrogens. 15 patients also had received estramustine, and another 3 patients, chemotherapy. A partial response occurred in 4 patients for periods of up to 18 months, and stable disease was seen in 2 patients. 7 more patients reported subjective response lasting less than 2 months. The disease progressed in the remaining 7 patients. Adverse reactions were tolerable. Our results are promising and indicate that medroxyprogesterone in high doses may have an effect in therapy-resistant cases of prostatic carcinoma.

An experimental study of urodynamic effects of epidural morphine and of naloxone reversal.

Urinary retention after epidural morphine is a distressing and troublesome complication. This study was undertaken to determine the effects of morphine (epidural, intramuscular, and intravenous) on urinary bladder function and possible reversal by naloxone. Thirty male volunteers (aged 20-28 years) were studied; the doses studied were 2, 4, and 10 mg of epidural morphine, 10 mg intramuscular morphine, and 10 mg intravenous morphine. The urodynamic study consisted of measurements of urine flow rate, strength of detrusor contraction, bladder capacity, and urethral pressure. Irrespective of dose, all subjects receiving epidural morphine showed marked relaxation of the detrusor shortly after injection. There was a corresponding increase in the maximal bladder capacity leading to urinary retention. These effects lasted an average of 14-16 h. Urethral pressures remained unchanged. Urodynamic changes after intramuscular and intravenous morphine were minimal. Treatment using a single intravenous injection of 0.8 mg naloxone promptly reversed the effects of epidural morphine on the bladder. Prevention of urinary retention was achieved with an intravenous infusion of naloxone started before administration of epidural morphine. The possible mechanisms of urinary retention following epidural opiates are discussed.

Blood concentration of lignocaine after application of 2% lignocaine gel in the urethra.

In 35 patients undergoing topical anaesthesia with lignocaine (lidocaine) gel (2% Xylocaine gel) the concentration of lignocaine base was measured in repeated venous blood samples. Twenty patients (group I) were given 20 ml of 2% lignocaine gel (400 mg lignocaine) and 5 patients (group II) received 40 ml (800 mg lignocaine) endourethrally. These 2 groups of patients underwent either dilation of the urethra or urethrocystoscopy. Ten patients (group III) undergoing transurethral resection of the prostate or a bladder tumour, were given 20 ml of gel (400 mg lignocaine) plus spinal anaesthesia with 2 ml of 5% lignocaine (100 mg lignocaine) with 7.5% glucose (Xylocaine "heavy"). The mean peak blood concentrations of lignocaine in these 3 groups were 0.06, 0.15 and 0.36 micrograms/ml respectively. Patients undergoing urethral dilatation had significantly higher blood concentrations than cystoscopy patients. The blood concentrations in group III were not higher than the expected value when spinal anaesthesia and lignocaine gel were given simultaneously. There was no statistically significant difference in the blood concentration between patients undergoing different types of transurethral resection (prostate and cancer of the bladder). Lignocaine applied endourethrally gives an extremely low blood concentration which is far below the level which can cause general toxic symptoms.

Acute hypertension and perirenal haematoma--a new aspect of Page's syndrome.

Chronic hypertension induced by perirenal constrictive processes is known from experimental studies as well as from clinical experience. In this report we present 2 cases of acute hypertension induced by massive perirenal haematoma, in 1 case as a complication following pyeloplasty, in the other as a complication following percutaneous renal biopsy. Since the shock may be masked by the hypertension (and operation thereby postponed) it is essential to be aware of this syndrome.

Renal blood flow in acute epidemic nephritis (nephropathia epidemica of Scandinavia).

Different haemodynamic and functional parameters were studied in 5 cases of acute epidemic nephritis with uraemia using nephroangiography and dye-dilution measurements combined with determination of extraction ratio and clearance for 51Cr-EDTA and PAH. In the acute phase, with greatly reduced renal function, increased vascular resistance was noted in spite of the vasodilatation observed in the renal artery out to and including the interlobular arteries. Moreover, angiography revealed enlarged kidneys with an increase in the thickness of the cortex and reduced cortical contrast accumulation. The renal blood flow, which was normal or slightly reduced initially, increased during convalescence, and renal function returned to normal. The investigation indicated that a primary vascular lesion in glomerular to postglomerular capillaries gives rise to pronounced interstitial oedema, which, probably as a result of secondary tubular compression, may be the cause of the rapidly developing renal failure.

Dysplasia of the testis and epididymis.

Various congenital malformations of the testis and the seminal pathways are illustrated by 10 cases. Though these malformations are often free from symptoms, an increasing number of them are now being discovered in connection with investigations of male infertility. In cases of azoospermia where testicular biopsies show complete spermatogenesis, surgical exploration is indicated. Some of these malformations may then be treated by surgery, with fairly good prospects of restored fertility.

Bone marrow examination as a diagnostic tool in carcinoma of the prostate.

155 patients with a newly discovered carcinoma of the prostate were investigated for the presence of bone metastases. Straight X-ray (conventional X-ray) revealed such secondary in 38 cases and bone marrow examination in 20. Three patients with a normal X-ray picture nevertheless showed cancer cells on bone marrow examination. The authors consider bone marrow examination as a valuable complement to the routine invedtigation of the patients with carcinoma of the prostate.