The 24-h frequency-volume chart in adults reporting no voiding complaints: defining reference values and analysing variables.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the variables (e.g. voiding frequency, voided volumes, urine production) and their mutual relationships and differences between age groups and genders, using a frequency-volume chart (FVC) in an adult population (representing all age groups) who denied having any voiding complaints. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: In all, 1152 men and women aged > 20 years completed a 24-h FVC; registration started with the first voided volume in the morning and concluded with the first voided volume the next morning. The time of voiding and volume were both recorded, and bedtime hours noted. Each participant claimed to have no voiding complaints. The statistical analysis was aimed at discerning the relationships between the FVC variables, gender and age. RESULTS: There was a linear increase in mean 24-h voiding frequency and nocturia in men, from 6.0 and 0.5 in the third decade to 8.5 and 1.6 in those aged > 70 years. Contrary to men, in women the mean 24-h frequency declined slightly in the older decades; it increased from 6.9 in the third to 8.2 in the sixth, declining to 7.8 in those aged > 70 years. Nocturia in women increased linearly, although slower than in men, from 0.7 in the third decade to 1.4 in those aged > 70 years. The mean volume/void decreased significantly in both genders, from 313 to 209 mL in men, and from 274 to 240 mL in women. The mean 24-h volume was 1718 and 1762 mL in men and women, respectively. For both genders there was a strong linear association between 24-h urine production and voided volumes. CONCLUSION: The volume/void and maximum voided volume decreased significantly with age in both sexes, but more prominently in men. As a result, in men the frequency increased with age, probably reflecting subclinical changes associated with the development of prostatic enlargement. In contrast to men the frequency in women increased initially and decreased in the older groups. A higher 24-h urine production was associated with a higher mean volume/void.

Evaluation of the diagnostic workup in young women referred for recurrent lower urinary tract infections.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the current practice of the diagnostic workup in The Netherlands and the clinical relevancy of the outcome of various diagnostic procedures in young women referred for recurrent lower urinary tract infections (UTIs). METHODS: A questionnaire was sent to all urologic departments in The Netherlands (n = 104) inquiring about the diagnostic procedures used for recurrent lower UTIs. Furthermore, we performed a prospective study in 100 consecutive young female patients (18 to 40 years old) referred for evaluation of recurrent lower UTIs. All patients underwent a standardized workup: questionnaire, voiding diary, physical examination, urinalysis and culture, abdominal x-ray with ultrasound or intravenous urography, and cystoscopy. RESULTS: The response rate to the questionnaires was 92%. The standard procedures were laboratory blood tests in 56%, cystoscopy in 69%, plain abdominal x-ray in 91%, and abdominal ultrasound in 59%. Only 18% of the urologists asked every patient to make a voided urine frequency volume chart. In our group of patients, the radiologic procedures revealed only one relevant abnormality. Cystoscopy confirmed cystitis in 22 patients, but never revealed relevant findings. None of these diagnostic procedures ever contributed to the diagnosis. The 24-hour urine output was less than 1.5 L in 43 patients, which was considered insufficient. The individual self-reports of fluid intake were unreliable. CONCLUSIONS: Many Dutch urologists perform an extensive routine workup in patients referred for recurrent lower UTIs. The results of our study revealed that the yield of most diagnostic procedures in these patients is low. The focus in evaluating these patients should be directed toward the behavioral aspects. Thus, the routine workup can be restricted to a voiding diary, urinalysis, and urine culture.

Value of diagnostic ultrasound in patients with chronic scrotal pain and normal findings on clinical examination.

OBJECTIVES: Chronic scrotal pain is a frequent complaint. In many patients with scrotal pain, scrotal ultrasound is performed when the physical examination reveals no abnormalities. We evaluated the yield of scrotal ultrasound in patients with chronic scrotal pain and a normal physical examination. METHODS: The study involved the findings in 111 patients with scrotal pain lasting longer than 2 weeks, in whom physical examinations and urinalyses were normal and who underwent ultrasound evaluation. Follow-up data were available. RESULTS: The median age at first presentation was 37 years. The median duration of pain at presentation was 5 months. The pain in the scrotum was localized to the right side in 37% of patients, to the left in 41 %, and bilaterally in 22%. Eighty-three percent had intermittent complaints, and 17% experienced continuous pain. In searching for a cause of the scrotal pain, 65% of patients were found to have a relevant medical history, such as regional surgery, infection, trauma, and low back pain, and 57% described provocative factors. Scrotal ultrasound revealed 12 epididymal cysts less than 0.5 cm and three subclinical varicoceles, but no clinically significant abnormalities. After a median follow-up of 12 months, the pain continued in 70%, although without the development of serious scrotal pathologic features. CONCLUSIONS: Scrotal ultrasound has no diagnostic value in patients with chronic scrotal pain in whom the physical examinations and urinalyses are normal. A patient's history may suggest an extrascrotal cause of his pain.

[Benign prostatic hyperplasia; recommendations for transmural care. Working Group, Dutch College of General Practitioners and Netherlands College of Urologists]. / Benigne prostaathyperplasie; aanbevelingen voor transmurale zorg.

Both the Netherlands College of Urologists (NVU) and the Dutch General Practice College (NHG) in recent years published guidelines for the management of benign hypertrophy of the prostate (BPH). The two differ in a number of respects and are not always consistent. The differences between the GP's and urologists' guidelines are mostly to be attributed to the difference in the patient populations visiting the GP and the urologist, respectively. In order to arrive a better adjustment concerning BPH patients between general practice and specialists, a team composed of NVU and NHG has drawn up 'Recommendations for transmural care'. These recommendations concern four subjects: diagnosis of micturition abnormalities, indication for examination of cancer of the prostate, drug treatment, indications for referring and re-referring of patients with micturition problems.

Adenocarcinoma of the kidney in childhood.

Renal adenocarcinoma in children is a rare tumor. A case report is presented and review of the available literature. There is no difference in symptomatology, therapy and prognosis between children and adults.

Histologic changes in the normal aging aorta: implications for dissecting aortic aneurysm.

The histologic changes that occur in the media of the normal aorta at various ages were studied in 100 normal aortas. These changes encompassed (1) cystic medial necrosis, defined as pooling of mucoid material; (2) elastin fragmentation, characterized by disruption of elastin lamellae; (3) fibrosis, defined as an increase in collagen at the expense of smooth muscle cells; and (4) medionecrosis, defined as areas with apparent loss of nuclei. The changes showed a striking correlation with age and may represent the normal aging process for the aorta as determined histologically. The alterations showed a close relation in onset and location within the media, suggesting a phenomenon if injury and repair caused by hemodynamic events. These findings in the normal aging aorta reveal that none of the histologic changes observed can be regarded as the specific structural alteration responsible for the development of dissecting aneurysm.

Pathogenesis of dissecting aneurysm of aorta. Comparative histopathologic study of significance of medial changes.

In previous investigation of the normal aging aorta, the claimed specificity of alterations in the media in the pathogenesis of dissecting aneurysm of the aorta was challenged. The concept was promoted that these changes are nonspecific and caused by general hemodynamic events within the aorta. In this investigation the aortic media was studied in patients with a dilated ascending aorta, whose hemodynamic profile is known to be altered. The results were compared with data obtained from the study of aortas with complete or incomplete dissection and aortas from patients with Marfan's syndrome, a condition known to predispose to dissection. Only quantitative differences were found between the normal "aging" aorta and the overtly abnormal aorta. The pathogenesis of dissected aneurysm, therefore, is considered to be initiated by processes if injury and repair within the aortic wall, consequent to hemodynamic forces. The histologic features of the media previously implicated as the specific underlying defect appear to represent the morphologic substrate of this traumatizing and reparative process. This process may gradually lead to dilatation of the aorta and, according to Laplace's law, a vicious cycle may ensue that may lead to further complications. Local circumstances determine whether a dilated aorta will rupture or whether an incomplete or complete dissection will occur. The fact that the aorta in patients with Marfan's syndrome shows basically the same structural alterations supports the concept proposed. The underlying connective tissue disorder in these patients will lead to complications at an earlier age. Dissecting aneurysm therefore is part of a spectrum of lesions that have as a common denominator the process of injury and repair.