BJU international
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To report the clinical spectrum seen in young abusers of street-ketamine (regular recreational abusers of street-ketamine, for its hallucinogenic effects) in Hong Kong, presenting with significant lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) but with no evidence of bacterial infection. ⋯ A syndrome of cystitis and contracted bladder can be associated with street-ketamine abuse. Secondary renal damage can occur in severe cases which might be irreversible, rendering patients dependent on dialysis. The present data do not establish the precise cause nor the incidence. Street-ketamine abuse is not only a drug problem, but might be associated with a serious urological condition causing a significant burden to healthcare resources.
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Surgical haemostatic agents have been increasingly applied for the control of bleeding, and have excellent potential in laparoscopy. Several factors are important when evaluating the use of sealants. We present a brief overview of the history, composition and mechanism of action of sealants, together with a report on experimental studies and clinical experience with haemostatic sealants. ⋯ Sealants are effective and safe topical agents to control bleeding during nephron-sparing surgery. They should not be viewed as an alternative, but as complementary agents to be used to improve surgical outcomes. Further prospective studies are necessary to validate their role in relation to other haemostatic support techniques.
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To assess the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of long-term, disease-free prostate cancer survivors and compare it with that of prostate cancer survivors with diabetes mellitus (DM), and a Dutch normative population, as comorbidity can have a major impact on HRQoL in cancer survivors. ⋯ Except for general health perceptions and vitality, the HRQoL of prostate cancer survivors with or without DM was comparable to a normative population. Survivorship selection can possibly explain, in part, why patients with DM did not report worse generic or disease-specific HRQoL than those without DM, as had been expected.
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To re-evaluate the first- and second-line therapies for treating uncomplicated urinary tract infection (UTI), as although fluoroquinolones are commonly used for this purpose, its level of use is thought to be inappropriately excessive and will eventually have a detrimental impact; thus we hypothesise that nitrofurantoin might be the best choice for this indication, due to its low frequency of use and its high susceptibility rate in common UTI pathogens. ⋯ We consider that nitrofurantoin is a good fluoroquinolone-sparing alternative to co-trimoxazole; this study shows that nitrofurantoin is bactericidal to a mean of 95% of E. coli UTIs. Nitrofurantoin also has a resistance rate of 2.3%, by contrast to the quinolones (ciprofloxacin and levofloxacin), with resistant rates of approximately 24%, and Co-trimoxazole, with a resistant rate of 29%. Nitrofurantoin is an acceptable treatment for uncomplicated UTIs and should now be considered the first-line treatment. A reconsideration of UTI treatment guidelines might now be appropriate.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study
Solifenacin in the treatment of urgency and other symptoms of overactive bladder: results from a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, rising-dose trial.
To examine the effects of the antimuscarinic agent solifenacin on urinary urgency, using a range of novel and established outcome measures, as urgency is the principal symptom of the overactive bladder syndrome (OAB). ⋯ Solifenacin significantly reduced the number of urgency episodes and the extent of urgency bother, and was well tolerated; it was effective as early as day 3 of treatment.