Acute Aortic Dissection With ST Segment Myocardial Infarction Following Masturbation.

BACKGROUND: Acute aortic dissection is the most common life-threatening disorder affecting the aorta, and can mimic other disease processes. We describe an unusual presentation of a critically ill patient with initial hematospermia diagnosed with a type A acute aortic dissection. CASE REPORT: A 68 year old man presented to a community ED after masturbation and report of blood in his ejaculate, followed by rapid development of severe low back, chest and hip pain with shock. ECG showed evidence of ST segment elevation, but suspicion remained high for thoracic or abdominal aortic catastrophe. Bedside ultrasound demonstrated no pericardial effusion, a severely hypokinetic myocardium and a question of fluid in the left perinephric space. Attempts were made to resuscitate the patient, and an ED chest/abdomen/pelvis CT showed a type A acute thoracic aortic dissection. Unfortunately, the patient remained profoundly unstable, with multiple arrests. He was transferred to a tertiary care facility, but expired shortly after arrival. WHY SHOULD AN EMERGENCY PHYSICIAN BE AWARE OF THIS?: An emergency physician needs to be aware of the myriad of presentations of acute aortic dissection. Although hematospermia was felt ultimately to be an incidental symptom, sexual activity may bring about a significant transient increase in blood pressure, which could contribute to sheer force causing aortic injury. Awareness of this trigger and a careful sensitive history may aid the clinician in early diagnosis.

Urethrography interpretation skills of urology and radiology residents at tertiary care medical centers.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the ability of urology and radiology residents to interpret retrograde urethrograms (RUGs) and voiding cystourethrograms (VCUGs). METHODS: A standardized examination of 10 combination RUGs and VCUGs of the male urethra was administered to urology and radiology residents from all levels of training at Washington University, Stanford University, and Northwestern University. Residents were asked to evaluate stricture location(s) and length, if present. RESULTS: Sixty residents participated, consisting of 26 from Washington University, 15 from Stanford University, and 19 from Northwestern University. Average years of training for urology and radiology were 3.6 and 2.8 years, respectively (P=.01). Normal RUGs and VCUGs were recognized by 18 of 31 radiologists (58%) and 19 of 29 urologists (65.5%; P=.5). Anterior strictures were correctly identified in 145 of 403 (36%) and 165 of 377 (43.8%) responses by radiologists and urologists, respectively (P=.03). Posterior strictures were correctly identified in 20 of 62 (32.3%) and 10 of 58 (17.2%) responses by radiologists and urologists, respectively (P=.09). When both groups of residents were combined, anterior strictures were identified correctly more often than posterior strictures (39.7% vs 25%; P<.01). Overall accuracy was 24.2% (75 of 310) for the radiology group and 27.9% (81 of 290) for the urology group (P=.30). In the presence of multiple strictures, accuracy declined to 7.26% (9 of 124) for the radiology group and 9.48% (11 of 116) for the urology group (P=.5), with a combined accuracy of 8.33% (20 of 240). CONCLUSION: Radiology and urology residents in the United States have poor skills at interpreting urethrography, especially when multiple strictures or posterior strictures are present. A formal educational program for RUG and VCUG interpretation should be designed and implemented into the radiology and urology resident curriculum.

Procedures needed to maintain functionality of adult continent catheterizable channels: a comparison of continent cutaneous ileal cecocystoplasty with tunneled catheterizable channels.

PURPOSE: We compared the outcomes of various adult continent catheterizable channels in a multi-institutional setting. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the records of all adults who underwent construction of a continent catheterizable channel at our 4 institutions from 2004 to 2013 and who had at least 6 months of followup. Patients were stratified by channel type, including continent cutaneous ileal cecocystoplasty or tunneled cutaneous channel, eg appendicovesicostomy, Monti channel, etc. The primary study outcome was the need for a secondary procedure to correct stomal leakage, catheterizable channel obstruction or stomal stenosis. Secondary outcomes were patient reported leakage and 30-day postoperative complications. We used Firth logistic regression to control for the heterogeneity induced by multiple institutions. RESULTS: A total of 61 patients were included in study, of whom 31 underwent continent cutaneous ileal cecocystoplasty. Mean age was 41.4 years (range 22 to 76). Median followup was 16 months. More patients with a tunneled channel required a secondary procedure than those with cecocystoplasty (15 of 30 or 50% vs 4 of 31 or 13%, OR 6.4, 95% CI 1.8-28). The total number of required secondary procedures was also greater for tunneled channels than for cecocystoplasty (27 vs 4). Of patients with cecocystoplasty 29% reported stomal leakage compared with 43% of those with a tunneled channel (p = 0.12). A high rate of postoperative complications was observed regardless of technique, including 40% for channels and 51.7% for cecocystoplasty. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with continent cutaneous ileal cecocystoplasty undergo fewer interventions to maintain the catheterizable channel than patients with a tunneled continent catheterizable channel.

Tracking intraoperative fluoroscopy utilization reduces radiation exposure during ureteroscopy.

PURPOSE: Recent studies have demonstrated deleterious effects of ionizing radiation from diagnostic and therapeutic imaging procedures. One of the barriers to minimizing patient exposure is physician awareness. We prospectively studied whether providing surgeons with feedback on their fluoroscopy utilization would affect intraoperative fluoroscopy times. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In 2007, we prospectively began to track fluoroscopy usage for all urology cases. Nine months later, surgeons started to receive periodic reports with their mean fluoroscopy time compared with their peers. We reviewed all ureteroscopic cases for nephrolithiasis from the date tracking began (2006-2010, n = 311). Using the initial 9-month period as a control, we studied the effect of providing feedback on mean fluoroscopy times in subsequent periods and analyzed patient factors that may affect radiation exposure. RESULTS: Mean fluoroscopy times for unilateral ureteroscopy decreased by 24% after surgeons received feedback (2.74-2.08 minutes, p = 0.002). On multivariate analysis, factors that independently predicted decreased fluoroscopy times included female sex (p = 0.02), stones in the distal ureter (p = 0.04), and if the surgeon had received feedback (p = 0.0004). Factors that increased fluoroscopy times included the presence of hydronephrosis (p = 0.001), use of a ureteral access sheath (p = 0.04), ureteral balloon dilation (p = 0.0001), and placement of a postoperative stent (p = 0.002). CONCLUSIONS: Providing surgeons with feedback on their fluoroscopy usage reduces patient and surgeon radiation exposure. Implementing such a tracking system requires minimal changes to existing operating room staff workflow. Further study is warranted to study the impact of this program on other procedures that utilize fluoroscopy in urology and other specialties.

Staging, evaluation, and nonoperative management of renal injuries.

The kidney is the most commonly injured urologic organ and can sometimes be the most challenging to treat. Although most renal injuries may be treated successfully without operative intervention, it is important, and yet sometimes confusing, to delineate which cases should be managed with intervention and which may be observed. The common teaching that blunt renal injuries may be observed and penetrating injury must be explored may be true in most cases, but in select cases this dogma can be misleading and lead to poorer outcomes. The purpose of this article is to explain the important variables in the evaluation of renal trauma (clinical, radiologic, and sometimes surgical),how to stage renal trauma, and how to decide whether nonoperative or operative management is indicated.

Diagnosis and classification of urethral injuries.

Urethral injuries are uncommon and rarely life-threatening in isolation. They are, how-ever, among the most devastating urinary system injuries because of significant long-term sequelae, including strictures, incontinence, erectile dysfunction, and infertility. Urethral trauma may be categorized by mechanism of injury (ie, blunt versus penetrating injury) and by location (ie, posterior versus anterior urethra). Injuries to the posterior urethra are classically associated with pelvic fractures, while anterior urethral trauma usually arises secondary to injudicious instrumentation or perineal straddle injury. This article reviews the major etiologies and mechanisms of urethral trauma, describes how these injuries are diagnosed, and explains classifications of urethral trauma. Timely and accurate diagnosis and classification of urethral injuries leads to appropriate acute management and reduced long-term morbidity.