Intravesical bacillus Calmette-Guèrin therapy: experience with a reduced dwell-time in patients with pronounced side-effects

OBJECTIVE: To report the side-effects after a reduction in the dwell-time in patients who had pronounced symptoms after intravesical bacillus Calmette-Guèrin (BCG) treatment, as side-effects such as fever, haematuria, and frequency are common and sometimes severe after BCG treatment in patients with bladder cancer. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The dwell-time was reduced to < or = 30 min in 51 patients who had pronounced side-effects after the preceding BCG instillation. All patients self-reported side-effects after each instillation in a questionnaire. RESULTS: After reducing the BCG dwell-time, fever, chills, dysuria and the overall time-to-recovery were significantly reduced but frequency and haematuria were not influenced. Patients with carcinoma in situ had significantly less dysuria than patients with papillary tumours. There was no difference in the treatment results between patients who had a normal dwell-time and a reduced dwell-time, determined at the first and second follow-up cystoscopy. CONCLUSION: Reducing the BCG dwell-time to < or = 30 min could be an alternative to a dose reduction in patients who experience pronounced side-effects after BCG instillations. The long-term outcome after reducing dwell-time and after dose reduction has not been studied and warrants further investigation.     

The Role of Smoking in Breast Cancer Development: An Analysis of a Mayo Clinic Cohort

Abstract:  The purpose of this study was to assess the predictive value of smoking history on breast cancer diagnosis in a referral clinic population. We conducted a case–control study using clinical data collected on 8,097 female patients (1,225 breast cancer cases and 6,872 controls) seen in the Mayo Clinic Breast Clinic between August 1, 1993 and November 31, 2003. Breast cancer patients and noncancer patients significantly differed with respect to age at time of the index visit (p < 0.001), number of pregnancies (p = 0.006), number of live births (p = 0.002), vital status at last known follow-up (p < 0.001), current menstruation (p < 0.001), age at menopause (p < 0.001), history of hysterectomy (p < 0.001), use of oral contraception (p = 0.05), duration of oral contraception use (p = 0.001), use of other exogenous hormones (p < 0.001), duration of exogenous hormone use (p = 0.05), breast pain at time of index visit (p = 0.002), smoking status (p < 0.001), and use of five or more alcoholic beverages per week (p = 0.002). After adjustment for these baseline characteristics, having a personal history of smoking was found to be predictive of breast cancer diagnosis (odds ratios [OR] = 1.25, p = 0.004). Other positive predictors for breast cancer diagnosis were: age (OR = 1.02, p < 0.001), history of hysterectomy (OR = 0.66, p < 0.001), prior use of oral contraception for more than 11 years (OR = 2.10, p < 0.001), and prior use of other exogenous hormones/estrogen (OR = 1.81, p < 0.001). In this referral practice having a personal history of smoking is predictive of breast cancer diagnosis. Further studies are needed to further explore this relationship.     

Prevalence of symptomatic pelvic organ prolapse in a Swedish population

Our aim was to estimate the prevalence of symptomatic pelvic organ prolapse (POP) in a Swedish urban female population. The cross-sectional study design included 8,000 randomly selected female residents in Stockholm, 30–79-year old. A postal questionnaire enquired about symptomatic POP, using a validated set of five questions, and about urinary incontinence and demographic data. Of 5,489 women providing adequate information, 454 (8.3%, 95% confidence interval 7.3–9.1%) were classified as having symptomatic POP. The prevalence rose with increasing age but leveled off after age 60. In a logistic regression model that disentangled the independent effects, parity emerged as a considerably stronger risk factor than age. There was a ten-fold gradient in prevalence odds of POP with parity, the steepest slope (four-fold) being between nulliparous and primiparous women. The prevalence of frequent stress urinary incontinence was 8.9% and that of frequent urge incontinence 5.9%. Out of the 454 women with prolapse, 37.4% had either or both types of incontinence.     

Standardizing Postoperative Complications—Validating the Clavien-Dindo Complications Classification in Cardiac Surgery

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Transfer across the human blood-brain barrier: Evidence for capillary recruitment and for a paradox glucose permeability increase in hypocapnia

The present study was undertaken to investigate whether there is intermittency of capillary flow in the human brain, i.e., whether more capillaries open up at high blood flow thus increasing the surface for diffusional exchange. Unidirectional transfer across the blood-brain barrier of labeled D-glucose, l-phenylalanine, l-leucine, thiourea, and propranolol was measured using the indicator diffusion method with labeled Na⁺, Cl^?, and chelated In as impermeable reference substances. Forty-three patients needing carotid angiography were studied in different situations, rest, hyperventilation, hypercapnia, hypo/hypertension (within the limits of autoregulation). Some older data on the seizure situation are included. Cerebral blood flow (CBF) was measured concomitantly. In situations with high blood flow, extraction (E) decreased and the permeability surface area product (PS) increased for both the lipophilic substances and for those transferred by carrier mechanism. With low CBF the reverse happened except for an unexpected PS increase for glucose in hyperventilation. Variations of PS in parallel with CBF are evidence of capillary recruitment which constitutes a more efficient way of increasing tissue supply. PS and E remained constant with a constant CBF even when arterial blood pressure was changed, indicating that autoregulatory mechanisms do not affect the diffusional exchange surface and probably take place at the arteriolar level. PS for glucose increased in hyperventilation perhaps as an expression of a pH dependence of its carrier.     

Characteristics of recovery of adrenocortical function after treatment for Cushing's syndrome due to pituitary or adrenal adenomas

OBJECTIVE: Surgical cure of Cushing's syndrome (CS) is followed by adrenocortical insufficiency, which may be long-lasting. The aim was to elucidate recovery of adrenocortical function, defined as a normal cortisol response to ACTH stimulation, and the relation to ACTH in patients cured for CS due to pituitary Cushing's disease (CD) or adrenal (AA) adenomas. DESIGN: A retrospective study including 32 patients considered surgically cured for CS (18 CD, 14 AA). RESULTS: Twelve (67%) patients with CD recovered within median 24 months (range 7 months-4(1)/(2) years) whereas six did not recover within 3-12 years. Plasma ACTH (p-ACTH) at time of recovery was not different from p-ACTH in patients not recovering (P = 0.9). Eleven (79%) patients with AA recovered within 24 months (10 months-4 years) whereas three did not recover within 4-10 years. p-ACTH at time of recovery was higher compared to patients not recovering (P < 0.04). No differences were observed comparing CD and AA patients concerning preoperative 24-h urinary free cortisol (UFC) excretion, postoperative unstimulated s-cortisol or recovery time. By contrast, p-ACTH measured at time of recovery was higher in AA compared to CD (median 12.3 vs. 4.6 pmol/l) (P < 0.001), whereas plasma dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (p-DHEAS) was lower in AA compared to CD (median 300 vs. 1500 nmol/l) (P = 0.02). CONCLUSION: Recovery of secondary adrenal insufficiency is a slow process in both CD and AA. ACTH measured at time of recovery was significantly higher and DHEAS significantly lower in patients with AA compared to CD, which may suggest different mechanisms of the recovery process and different set points in the glucocorticoid feedback inhibition of ACTH secretion.