Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to A Steg.
A case of complete ureteral transection complicating percutaneous nucleotomy for disk herniation is reported. The ureteral lesion was contralateral to the percutaneous approach and was treated by intubated ureteroureterostomy, since complete section precluded endourological management.
Intravesical therapy with bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) has proved to be more effective in the prophylaxis and treatment of superficial bladder tumors and carcinoma in situ than most chemotherapeutic agents. Compared to intravesical chemotherapy, instillations with BCG provoke more local and systemic reactions. In addition to the commonly induced granulomatous inflammatory changes in the bladder, which produce irritative symptoms, this therapy may cause systemic side effects varying from mild malaise and fever to, in rare instances, life-threatening or fatal sepsis. We report the incidence and varieties of toxicities in 2,602 patients treated with intravesical BCG. Side effects are classified according to local and systemic toxicity. Treatment options vary according to the severity of toxicity from delaying or withholding instillations to treatment with antituberculous drugs for up to 6 months. In general, 95% of the patients have no serious side effects. Recognition of risk factors, particularly traumatic catheterization or concurrent cystitis, that result in systemic BCG absorption, as well as the prompt and appropriate treatment of early side effects should significantly decrease the incidence of severe toxicity.
Hyperthermia was shown to cause improvement in 50 to 60% of the patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) without considering placebo effects. We studied 68 patients randomly assigned to a treatment group (38) and a sham group (30) who underwent the same manipulation but without applying radio frequency power. The Biodan Prostathermer was used. Criteria for inclusion were based on objective and subjective symptoms. Treatment was performed 6 times at 43 +/- 0.5C for the treatment group. Followup evaluation was performed at 3 months, and the same objective and subjective symptoms were recorded. We observed a statistically significant subjective improvement in the sham group (33%) that was not accompanied by any significant objective improvement. In the treatment group the subjective response was significantly better regarding number of patients (68%) and response rate, and was substantiated by a significant improvement in all objective symptoms (53% of the patients) except voided volume. Therefore, hyperthermia treatment had a definite therapeutic effect on BPH in excess of placebo.
Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) immunotherapy represents a valuable treatment in the management of superficial bladder cancer, but the therapy is not without its risks. A total of 220 patients have been included in a review of local and systemic side effects associated with BCG immunotherapy. The majority of side effects are mild and self limiting, but potentially life threatening complications can arise with BCG immunotherapy. These systemic side effects include pneumonitis/hepatitis and systemic BCG infection. Recommendations are given for the use and administration of BCG, and if these rules are correctly applied, BCG may be administered safely, and with confidence.
Adenocarcinoma of the prostate is the most frequent cancer of male over 60 years of age. Radical prostatectomy is one of the preferred modes of treatment for localized stages. Surgical morbidity decreases with experience and consists mainly in bleeding and rectal injury. Delayed morbidity comprises loss of erection, anastomosis stricture, incontinence. A retrospective study of 100 patients is reported.
For about the last 10 years, transrectal hyperthermia has been used to treat obstructive manifestations of adenoma of prostate. This procedure induces interstitial edema and acts preferentially on the fibrous elements of the prostate. Several therapeutic regimens have been used successively by different teams, after objective and subjective inclusion screening programmes. Results published up to the present show about 45% of objective responders (against 3% in a placebo group) with improvement sustained in 3 out of 4 cases. Morbidity rate (infection and urinary retention) was 3%. Data from a retrospective study of a series of personally treated patients was w used to determine those with the greatest chance of a successful outcome, even though this is never comparable with that of surgical treatment.
Incrustations may develop on ureteral catheters and cause obstruction. We report a case in which obstruction was relieved by laser lithotripsy inside the lumen of the catheter. This completely noninvasive technique may prove to be useful in selected cases.
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Current understanding of the anatomic subdivision of the adult prostate gland is secondary to two major studies successively published by Gil Vernet in 1953 and by McNeal in 1968. In Gil Vernet's report, glandular tissue consists of a caudal gland, a cranial gland and a intermediate gland. These 3 glandular areas were defined according to the location of their glandular openings into the urethra. In McNeal's report, the urethra is taken as the primary anatomic reference point. The four glandular areas are best visualized by examination of the selected coronal plane of sections along the proximal and distal prostatic urethra. The peripheral zone is located posterolaterally, the central zone is located at the base, and the 2 lobes of the transition zone are located along the proximal urethra. Fibromuscular regions are concentrated anteromedially. Most of the anatomic regions are similar between the two models, however, in McNeal's model, accuracies concerning the boundaries of the central zone and transition zone ultimately make this model superior for the study of both the physiology and pathology of the prostate.
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The authors report about 12 cases of long ureteral calculi, 16 to 39 mm in size, observed over 10 years. They were all made of a mixture of ammonium-magnesium phosphate and calcium phosphocarbonate. Infection was the revealing symptom, either in the form of simple bacteriuria or as acute pyelonephritis or sepsis. These calculi, found in a lumbar or pelvic location, were very long, radiopaque but with a moderate radiological density, homogeneous and have regular contours. They were straight, sometimes slightly bent, rarely (one case out of 12) arciform. In 11 of 12 cases, the affected patient was female. In most cases, the urine was infected by Proteus mirabilis. In spite of their size, the calculi caused total obstruction in 3 of 12 cases only. They were or were not associated to ipsilateral coral calculi of the same chemical type. Destruction was easily achieved with physical agents. The etiological, radiological and therapeutic characteristics of these calculi give them a specific place among ammonium-magnesium phosphate calculi.
The discovery of a pathological stage C after radical prostatectomy with a curative aim for a clinically localized cancer of the prostate raises the question of a possible adjuvant therapy. The indications and modalities of such a therapy still remain controversial. Our review sums up our knowledge and uncertainties on this point.
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A prospective study was carried out in 100 consecutive male patients coming to consultation in the department. These men, whose average age was 65 years (32-82), and who had come for various reasons, answered a questionnaire on the quality of their urine flow, which was rated on a scale ranging from 1 to 4. The results of flow rate measurements were classified in 4 categories according to the maximum flow rate and to the volume of micturation, which always was greater than 150 ml. The comparison of the subjective appreciation and of the objective value showed frequent discrepancies (over- or under-evaluation). These results were analysed according to various parameters, and in particular to the patients' age. It thus appears that one third of the patients only have an accurate appreciation of the quality of their micturation.
118 patients suffering from a calculus in the lumbar ureter were treated from January, 1987 to January, 1990. The treatment of 91 patients combined an initial internal ureteral drainage, followed by extracorporeal lithotrity (ECL): 40 calculi were driven back into the kidney and 51 were treated within the ureter. 69 patients (76%) no longer have any calculus; 17 (19%) retain residual fragments smaller than or equal to 3 mm in the lower calyces. We therefore count 5 failures, including 3 in which a second-intention surgical ureterotomy was performed. The ascent of the probe failed in 9 cases at the beginning of the series (6 ureterotomies and 3 percutaneous nephrostomies + ECL). 11 patients were treated with probeless in situ ECL. The others were treated with ureteroscopy (4), percutaneous nephrostomy + ECL (1) and nephrectomy (2). There is not one single treatment for the calculi of the lumbar ureter, and they require associating several therapeutic procedures.