Contrast-Enhanced Spectral Mammography and tumor size assessment: a valuable tool for appropriate surgical management of breast lesions

Purpose

To compare the accuracy of Contrast-Enhanced Spectral Mammography (CESM), MG, US, and breast MRI in estimating the size of breast lesions requiring surgery. The postoperative histology size of the lesion was used as the gold standard.

Material and methods

Two hundred thirty-three non-benign lesions in 189 patients were included in the analyses. All the selected patients underwent CESM and at least one other conventional diagnostic exam (US, MG, or MRI). Subsequently, all the patients underwent surgery preceded by cytological/histological examination. The largest diameter of the lesion at imaging was measured by a radiologist with more than 10 years’ experience and then compared with the size of the lesion in the histological sample at the surgery (gold standard).

Results

Among the 233 breast lesions, 196 were evaluated with US, 206 with MG and 160 with MRI. We found no statistically significant differences between size measurements using CESM and MRI compared with the measurements at the surgery (p value 0.63 and 0.51), whereas a significant difference was found for MG and US (p?<?0.001).

Conclusion

CESM is a reliable method for estimating the size of breast lesions: its performance seems superior to US and MG and comparable to MRI.

     

Paraurethral leiomyoma

Paraurethral leiomyoma is a rare, benign, hormone-dependent neoplasm of mesenchymal origin affecting women. The clinical evidence varies, but it tends to be asymptomatic or associated with the sensation of a foreign body; urinary symptoms are rarely described. The distinction among urethral, paraurethral, and anterior vaginal wall leiomyoma can be very difficult owing to their anatomic proximity. Excision of the mass is the recommended treatment, and the diagnosis is confirmed by the pathologic finding to rule out the presence of a sarcoma. A case of paraurethral leiomyoma associated with dysuria, dyspareunia, and obstructive voiding symptoms is reported.     

Liver transplantation in a patient with S(beta)o-thalassemia

BACKGROUND: Patients presenting sickle cell disease may develop different types of hepatic complications. Intrahepatic cholestasis is a potentially fatal complication of the disease, and sometimes the only possible solution is transplantation. Postoperative transfusion management has not yet been well established. In this report, we describe the transfusional program of a patient presenting sickle cell disease and intrahepatic cholestasis who underwent liver transplantation 2 years ago. METHODS: Data were obtained from the chart and the blood bank records. RESULTS: The liver transplantation was performed successfully. Despite mild allograft dysfunction 3 months after surgery, secondary to intrahepatic sickling, the patient has been doing well with the transfusional management adopted (sickle-cell hemoglobin <20%). CONCLUSION: Sickle cell disease should not be a criterion for exclusion from liver transplantation. Regular transfusion with monitoring of sickle-cell hemoglobin is a very important measure to minimize the risk of intrahepatic sickling and possible rejection.     

Renal and cardiovascular protection in type 2 diabetes mellitus: angiotensin II receptor blockers

Aggressive treatment of hypertension is effective in reducing both microvascular and macrovascular complications in type 2 diabetes, and target BP less than 130/85 or 130/80 mmHg are now recommended. Inhibition of renin angiotensin aldosterone system (RAAS) plays an essential role in the treatment of hypertension and diabetes-related complications. Studies focusing on renal end-points suggest that angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACE-I) are more effective than other traditional agents in reducing the onset of clinical proteinuria in both type 1 and type 2 diabetic patients with incipient nephropathy, mainly in normotensive ones (secondary prevention). However, several small trials in type 2 diabetic patients with overt nephropathy (tertiary prevention) failed to demonstrate a specific renoprotective role for ACE-I, at variance with type 1 diabetes. Three recent large trials address the question of whether angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARB) prevent the development of clinical proteinuria or delay the progression of nephropathy in type 2 diabetes. The IRMA study showed that irbesartan is more effective than conventional therapy in preventing the development of clinical proteinuria and in favoring the regression to normoalbuminuria for comparable BP control in patients with incipient nephropathy. The IDNT and RENAAL trials showed that ARB are more effective than traditional antihypertensive therapies in reducing progression toward end-stage renal failure (ESRF) in type 2 diabetic patients with overt nephropathy independently of changes in BP. Moreover, a reduction in hospitalizations for heart failure was demonstrated for ARB-treated patients compared with placebo. Furthermore, the LIFE study showed that losartan is more effective than conventional therapy in reducing cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in a cohort of diabetic patients with hypertension and left ventricular hypertrophy. In conclusion, ARB seem to be effective in both preventing renal damage and reducing progression toward ESRF in type 2 diabetic patients. Thus, the guidelines for the prevention and treatment of diabetic nephropathy are now changed. In type 1 diabetes ACE-I are the first-choice drug; in type 2 diabetes, ARB are considered first-choice drugs in secondary prevention as well as ACE-I and have been now elected the unique first-choice drug in tertiary prevention of ESRF. Finally, ARB should be considered as the first-choice drug in cardiovascular prevention too, as well as ACE-I.     

Nutritional-inflammation status and resistance to erythropoietin therapy in haemodialysis patients.

BACKGROUND: Chronic kidney disease patients who are resistant to erythropoietin (EPO) treatment may suffer from malnutrition and/or inflammation. METHODS: In a cross-sectional study of haemodialysis patients, we investigated the relationship between the natural logarithm of the weekly EPO dose normalized for post-dialysis body weight and outcome measures of nutrition and/or inflammation [BMI, albumin and C reactive protein (CRP)] by means of multiple linear regression analysis. On the basis of the decile distribution of weekly EPO doses, we also evaluated four groups of patients: untreated, hyper-responders, normo-responders and hypo-responders. RESULTS: Six hundred and seventy-seven adult haemodialysis patients were recruited from five Italian centres. BMI and albumin were lower in the hypo-responders than in the other groups (21.3+/-3.8 vs 24.4+/-4.7 kg/m(2), P<0.001; and 3.8+/-0.6 vs 4.1+/-0.4 g/dl, P<0.001), whereas the median CRP level was higher (1.9 vs 0.8 mg/dl, P = 0.004). The median weekly EPO dose ranged from 30 IU/kg/week in the hyper-responsive group to 263 IU/kg/week in the hypo-responsive group. Transferrin saturation linearly decreased from the hyper- to hypo-responsive group (37+/-15 to 25+/-10%, P = 0.003), without any differences in transferrin levels. Ferritin levels were lower in the hypo-responsive than in the other patients (median 318 vs 445 ng/ml, P = 0.01). At multiple linear regression analysis, haemoglobin, BMI, albumin, CRP and serum iron levels were independently associated with the natural logarithm of the weekly EPO dose (R(2) = 0.22). CONCLUSIONS: Our findings support a clear association between EPO responsiveness and nutritional and inflammation variables in haemodialysis patients; iron deficiency is still a major cause of hypo-responsiveness.     

Risk of clinical fractures after gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist therapy for prostate cancer

PURPOSE: We assessed the relationship between GnRH agonists and the risk of clinical fractures in men with prostate cancer. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Using a database of medical claims from 16 large American companies we identified a study group of 3,779 men with prostate cancer who received treatment with a GnRH agonist and a control group of 8,341 with prostate cancer who were not treated with a GnRH agonist. Men with 1 or more medical claims for bone metastases were excluded. The rates of any clinical fracture, hip fracture and vertebral fracture were compared between the groups. RESULTS: The rate of any fracture was 7.91/100 vs 6.55/100 person-years at risk in men who received vs did not receive a GnRH agonist (relative risk 1.21, 95% CI 1.09 to 1.34). The rates of hip fracture (relative risk 1.76, 95% CI 1.33 to 2.33) and vertebral fracture (relative risk 1.18, 95% CI 0.94 to 1.48) were also higher in men who received a GnRH agonist. GnRH agonist treatment was independently associated with fracture risk on multivariate analyses. CONCLUSIONS: GnRH agonists increase the risk of clinical fracture in men with prostate cancer.     

Minimally Invasive Transanal Repair of Rectourethral Fistulas

Background

Rectourethral fistulas (RUFs) represent an uncommon complication of pelvic surgery, especially radical prostatectomy. To date there is no standardised treatment for managing RUFs. This represents a challenge for surgeons, mainly because of the potential recurrence risk.

Trends of lymphadenectomy in upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC) patients treated with radical nephroureterectomy

Introduction

To evaluate temporal trends in the delivery and extent of lymphadenectomy (LND) in radical nephroureterectomy (RNU) performed in upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC) patients.

Methods

We evaluated a multi institutional collaborative database composed by 1512 consecutive patients diagnosed with UTUC treated with RNU between 1990 and 2016. Year of surgery were grouped in five periods: 1990–1996, 1997–2002, 2003–2007, 2008–2012 and 2013–2016. Data about LND were available for all patients and numbers of nodes removed and positive were reported by dedicate uropathologists. The Mann–Whitney and Chi square tests were used to compare the statistical significance of differences in medians and proportions, respectively.

Results

Five hundred forty-five patients (36.0%) received a concomitant LND while 967 (64.0%) did not; 41.9% of open RNU patients received a concomitant LND compared to 24.4% of laparoscopic RNU patients. The rate of concomitant LND increased with time in the overall, laparoscopic and open RNU patients (all p?<?0.03). Patients treated with open RNU also had an increasing likelihood to receive an adequate concomitant LND (p?<?0.001) while those undergoing a laparoscopic approach did not (p?=?0.1). Patients treated with concomitant LND had a median longer operative time of 20 min (p?=?0.01). There were no differences in perioperative outcomes and complications between patients who received a concomitant LND and those who did not (p?>?0.1).

Conclusion

Although an increased trend was observed, most patients treated with RNU did not receive LND. Surgeons using a laparoscopic RNU were less likely to perform a concomitant LND, and when done, they remove less nodes.

     

The effect of glossopexy on weight velocity in infants with Pierre Robin syndrome

Aim

In infants with Pierre Robin syndrome (PRS), mandibular distraction may be more advantageous than glossopexy as it not only relieves oropharyngeal airway obstruction but also reverses body growth retardation. Because no data are available on body weight velocity after glossopexy, we assessed longitudinally the body weight velocity in a cohort of children undergoing glossopexy.

Methods

The records of 48 infants with PRS undergoing glossopexy after unsuccessful nonoperative treatment between 1981 and 2005 were reviewed. Weight measurements were analyzed at 4 time-points: at birth, on admission for glossopexy, on admission for lysis of lip-tongue adhesion (TLA), and at follow-up. Weight velocity was assessed using Tanner's tables.

Main Results

Adhesion dehiscence occurred in 9 patients (18.7%). Lip-tongue adhesion resolved airway compromise in 36 infants (75%). Release of TLA was accomplished in 34 patients. Data on weight velocity from birth to follow-up (mean, 5.57 ± 0.59 years) were available for 31 patients. After glossopexy, mean body weight increased from the 9.7 ± 2.6th to the 17.5 ± 4.6th percentile (P > .05), whereas mean weight velocity increased from the 19.1 ± 4.9th to the 74.2 ± 4.7th percentile (P < .001). No temporal correlation was found between glossopexy and oropharyngeal dysphagia.

Conclusion

In infants with PRS, glossopexy is a valid alternative to mandibular distraction because it does not cause decline in body growth.