Search

Background To investigate the efficacy of tamsulosin in patients with lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) and benign prostatic enlargement (BPE) with intravesical prostatic protrusion (IPP). Ultrasound measurement of the IPP has been previously described as an effective instrument for the evaluation of benign prostatic obstruction (BPO) and could help in clarifying the role of alpha-blockers in patients with (BPE). Methods Patients with BPE and LUTS were enrolled in this observational study. Intravesical prostatic protrusion was graded as grade 1 ( 10 ml). Patients were treated with tamsulosin for twelve weeks. Evaluation was performed before and at the end of treatment by means of International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS) and uroflowmetry. Patients were considered responders if a reduction of IPSS > 3 points was reported. Results One hundred forty-two patients were enrolled. Twelve patients were excluded because of incomplete data. Fifty patients showed an IPP grade 1 (group A), 52 a grade 2 (group B) and 28 a grade 3 (group C). Treatment success was obtained in 82%, 38,5% and 7,1% of patients respectively; these differences (group A vs B-C and group B vs C) were highly significant. The odd ratio to obtain a treatment success was of 59 and 8.1 in group A and group B respectively, in comparison to group C. After a multivariate regression, the relationship between IPP grade and treatment success remained significant. Improvement of uroflowmetry parameters has been reported in all the groups especially in patients with a low grade IPP (p value = 0,016 group A vs group B; p value = 0,005 group A vs group C). Prostate volume seems not to influence this relationship. Conclusions Intravesical prostatic protrusion has found to be significantly and inversely correlated with treatment success in patients with LUTS and BPE under alpha-blockers therapy. Alpha blockers odd ratio of success is 59 times higher in patients with a low grade IPP in comparison to patients with a high grade.

Aim of this pilot study was to assess the feasibility of a home-based transcutaneous tibial nerve stimulation (TTNS) protocol in patients responding to percutaneous tibial nerve stimulation (PTNS ).16 overactive bladder syndrome (OAB) patients, responding to PTNS, were included. Patients performed a flexible home protocol of TTNS. Satisfied patients were considered "subjective responders"; patients not showing a ≥10% increase of urgency/urgency incontinence episodes/day were considered "objective responders".14/16 patients were followed up for a mean of 19.7 months. All patients were considered subjective responders; 13 were considered objective responders. The mean number of stimulations/week was 1.6 (1-3).After this pilot study, it is possible to conclude that home-based TTNS is feasible. Nevertheless, further randomized trials are needed before drawing any conclusions.

The role of urodynamic investigation has been recently questioned on the basis of data from a selected population of patients with stress urinary incontinence defined as uncomplicated. The aim of this study was to determine the proportion of patients who underwent urodynamic investigation in our centre in whom the stress urinary incontinence could be defined as uncomplicated. The secondary aim was to assess the number of women in whom the urodynamic investigation added information to the preurodynamic assessment. This was a retrospective single-centre study. The data from female patients who underwent urodynamic evaluation prior to surgery for stress urinary incontinence between 2008 and 2012 were considered. Patients were categorized as presenting with uncomplicated or complicated stress urinary incontinence according to the definitions used in the ValUE trial. Urodynamic observations were then compared with preurodynamic data. Data from 244 female patients were considered. Due to incomplete data, 33 of these patients were excluded from the evaluation. Only 47 patients (22.3 %) were considered to have uncomplicated stress urinary incontinence according to the definition used in the ValUE trial. The remaining 164 patients (77.7 %) were considered to have complicated stress urinary incontinence. Urodynamic observations differed from the preurodynamic data in 134 of 211 patients (63.5 %). A diagnosis of voiding dysfunction was obtained in 25.6 % of patients. The majority of our patients had complicated stress urinary incontinence. In a relevant percentage of these patients, a urodynamic test added some new information, including a diagnosis of voiding dysfunction. The role of urodynamic investigation needs to be explored in this patient group.

This is an observational prospective noncontrolled study. We enrolled 105 patients affected by neurogenic detrusor overactivity (NDO) who underwent botulinum neurotoxin A (BONT-A) intradetrusor injection and were followed-up for 270 days. To investigate the use of oxybutynin after BONT-A administration in NDO patients. Careggi University Hospital in Florence and Tor Vergata University Hospital in Rome. Prospective data from two Italian centers were collected in 1 year. Patients showing limited efficacy but good tolerability and adherence to oxybutynin 5 mg three times a day (t.i.d.). were enrolled in the study. Patients received BONT-A intradetrusor injection (onabotulinumtoxinA, 300 U) with a trigone-sparing technique, and the use of oxybutynin was registered at every visit. 105 patients were included. At visit 1, only 30 patients (28.6%) used oxybutynin t.i.d., whereas 47 (45,2%) used a lower dosage and 28 (26.7%) stopped the therapy. At visit 2, 77.3% of patients who had reduced oxybutynin intake, maintained the dosage decided at visit 1. At visit 3, 51.9% returned to oxybutynin t.i.d.; 44.8% were on a reduced dosage and only 3 (2.9%) were not taking the drug. At visit 4, only 37.5% of patients were taking less than oxybutynin t.i.d. This study provides some important insights on the use of oral antimuscarinics in patients treated by means of BONT-A intradetrusor administration for NDO; in particular, it suggests that, after an initial reduction in the use of oxybutynin, patients tend to increase the dosage of this drug during the follow-up after the BONT-A treatment.

Recto-urethral fistula is one of the most serious complications caused by high-intensity-focused ultrasound used as salvage treatment for recurrence of prostate cancer after brachytherapy or external beam radiotherapy (EBRT). We report the case of a recto-urethral fistula in a 68-year-old patient, who previously had undergone radical prostatectomy and EBRT for prostate cancer (pT3 N0 Mx). The fistula was treated conservatively by an indwelling Foley catheter, without the creation of an intestinal diversion. The fistula was assessed initially by a retrograde and a CT scan of the pelvis with contrast medium and reassessed periodically by means of retrograde urethrograms. To date, 24 months after this episode, no evidence of recurrence of the fistula has been found.