Urology
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Men with metastatic hormone-refractory prostate cancer (HRPC) form a heterogeneous population with a wide range of symptoms and variable survival. Patient selection is critical in determining which patients will receive the most benefit from aggressive chemotherapy. The prostate-specific antigen (PSA) doubling time (PSADT) has been shown to be a surrogate for survival in earlier stages of prostate cancer, but its utility as a predictor in HRPC is unknown. ⋯ PSADT serves as an independent prognostic marker for survival in patients with metastatic HRPC. Men with a PSADT of 70 days or less had a significantly shorter survival time compared with men with a PSADT of more than 70 days. Inclusion of PSADT with other clinical data could help clinicians select men at high risk of early mortality who may most benefit from aggressive treatment regimens, such as docetaxel-based regimens.
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To evaluate the use of Avagard compared with a hand-brush scrub preparation by the urologist in preparation for inpatient and outpatient pediatric urologic operations. Avagard (chlorhexidine gluconate 1% solution and ethyl alcohol 61% wt/wt) is a waterless, brushless, and scrubless hand antiseptic indicated as a replacement for traditional preoperative brush hand scrubbing. ⋯ To our knowledge, this is the first study demonstrating that Avagard is a fast, effective, easy to apply, and safe surgical hand preparation for pediatric urologic surgery. Its use is cost effective, as well as time efficient, in relation to the traditional surgical scrub.