Orally Administered Combination of Hyaluronic Acid, Chondroitin Sulfate, Curcumin, and Quercetin in the Prevention of Postcoital Recurrent Urinary Tract Infections: Analysis of 98 Women in Reproductive Age After 6 Months of Treatment.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to assess the efficacy of orally administered combination of hyaluronic acid (HA), chondroitin sulfate (CS), curcumin, and quercetin for the prevention of postcoital recurrent urinary tract infection (UTI) in reproductive age women. METHODS: Ninety-eight consecutive patients in reproductive age affected by UTI were considered for the study. All 98 patients received a combination of HA, CS, curcumin, and quercetin two tablets per diem for the first month and one tablet every day for the next 5 months. We investigate recurrence of UTI with the Urinary Tract Infection Symptoms Assessment and the Pelvic Pain and Urinary Urgency Frequency. The quality of life and sexual function were valued using 36-Item Short Form Survey, Female Sexual Function Index, and the Female Sexual Distress Scale questionnaires. The same investigations were performed at the first visit and after 6 months of treatment. RESULTS: The symptoms associated with UTI significantly decreased after 6 months of treatment, in particular dysuria episodes diminished and number of voiding decreased (P < 0.0001). During the treatment period, only seven patients (7.1%) experienced a UTI recurrence, confirmed by positive urine culture with bacteriuria of greater than 10 colony forming units/mL. The Pelvic Pain and Urinary Urgency Frequency, Female Sexual Function Index, Female Sexual Distress Scale, and 36-Item Short Form Survey showed a statistically significant improvement after 6 months. CONCLUSIONS: Oral administration of a combination of HA, CS, curcumin, and quercetin is a valid and well-tolerated nonantibiotic treatment for prevention of postcoital UTI in reproductive age women.

Radio-localization of Non-Palpable Breast Lesions Under Ultrasonographic Guidance: Current Status and Future Perspectives.

BACKGROUND: Due to the spread of mammographic screening programs, a constant increase of clinically-occult breast cancer diagnosis has been registered. A correct approach to nonpalpable breast lesions requires an accurate intra-operative localization in order to achieve a complete surgical resection. The aim of this paper is to describe the state of the art of the US-guided procedures such as Radio-guided Occult Lesion Localization (ROLL) and Radio-guided Seed Localization (RSL) in comparison to the most widely adopted Wire-Guided Localization (WGL). METHODS: Links to full text papers and abstracts published in the last 25 years regarding localization of non-palpable breast lesions were researched using PubMed service of US National Library of Medicine. Using the term "non-palpable breast lesions localization", different localization techniques were considered and analyzed. Human studies, published in English, French, German, Italian, and Spanish in journals with an impact factor index, were taken into account, independently of the type of article (clinical trial, review, editorial, etc.) or radiopharmaceutical used. Since the aim was to assess the clinical value of the procedures, a higher relevance was assigned to studies with significantly high number of patients and to those comparing at least two localization techniques. The reliability of each technique was evaluated taking into account several parameters such as correlation index between two localization procedures, risk of complications, lesion margin involvement and rate re-operation. CONCLUSIONS: Since their introduction in clinical practice, several randomized clinical trials and meta-analyses showed the accuracy and reliability of radio-guided procedures performed under ultrasonographic guidance. ROLL and RSL offer a practical approach to the management of clinically-occult breast lesions.