Risk of hospitalization and death following prostate biopsy in Scotland.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the risk of hospitalization and death following prostate biopsy. STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study. METHODS: Our study population comprised 10,285 patients with a record of first ever prostate biopsy between 2009 and 2013 on computerized acute hospital discharge or outpatient records covering Scotland. Using the general population as a comparison group, expected numbers of admissions/deaths were derived by applying age-, sex-, deprivation category-, and calendar year-specific rates of hospital admissions/deaths to the study population. Indirectly standardized hospital admission ratios (SHRs) and mortality ratios (SMRs) were calculated by dividing the observed numbers of admissions/deaths by expected numbers. RESULTS: Compared with background rates, patients were more likely to be admitted to hospital within 30 days (SHR 2.7; 95% confidence interval 2.4, 2.9) and 120 days (SHR 4.0; 3.8, 4.1) of biopsy. Patients with prior co-morbidity had higher SHRs. The risk of death within 30 days of biopsy was not increased significantly (SMR 1.6; 0.9, 2.7), but within 120 days, the risk of death was significantly higher than expected (SMR 1.9; 1.5, 2.4). The risk of death increased with age and tended to be higher among patients with prior co-morbidity. Overall risks of hospitalization and of death up to 120 days were increased both in men diagnosed and those not diagnosed with prostate cancer. CONCLUSIONS: Higher rates of adverse events in older patients and patients with prior co-morbidity emphasizes the need for careful patient selection for prostate biopsy and justifies ongoing efforts to minimize the risk of complications.

Radiochemical neutron activation analysis for trace chlorine in steels and alloys.

Chlorine is usually present at low concentrations in reactor materials and thermal neutron activation of (35)Cl produces (36)Cl, which has a long half-life and is a radionuclide of significance in nuclear waste disposal. This paper describes a radiochemical method that has been developed to measure low concentrations of Cl in reactor stainless steels, so that the amount of (36)Cl in radioactive wastes can be estimated. The method is based on the irradiation of a 1 g sample in a thermal neutron flux of 10(16) n m(-)(2) s(-)(1), followed by dissolution in HNO(3) with the addition of stable KCl carrier/tracer. The Cl is precipitated as AgCl, and the recovery is measured gravimetrically. The (38)Cl, which has a half-life of 37 min, is measured with γ-ray spectrometry. The entire process, from irradiation to the end of counting, takes ∼1.5 h. The recovery is near-quantitative, and the detection limit for Cl in most stainless steels is below 1 mg/kg.