Is there a difference in percutaneous nephrolithotomy outcomes among various types of pelvicaliceal system?

Purpose

During PNL procedures, stone clearance can be achieved by single access or multiple accesses for same stone size and configuration. At this point, we believed that pelvicaliceal system type may play a significant role on stone clearance. In our study, we aimed to investigate the effect of pelvicaliceal system type on PNL outcomes.

Methods

A total of 498 patients who had preoperative intravenous urography were enrolled in our study. PCSs of the patients were classified as A1, A2, B1, and B2 according to Sampaio system after evaluation of IVU images. The exclusion criteria were unclassified pelvicaliceal system due to the presence of exaggerated renal hydronephrosis, IVUs with poor quality, radiolucent renal stones, and absence of CT or IVU in postoperative period.

Results

There was no clinically significant difference for patient gender, history of open surgery, and history of previous SWL. Success rates of PNL were 79.5, 82.0, 74.3, and 80.3 % in Sampaio type A1, A2, B1, and B2 PCS, respectively (p 0.61). Multiple accesses were required for 35 (18.8 %), 14 (17.9 %), 55 (30.1 %), and 6 (11.8 %) patients according to Sampaio classification type A1, A2, B1, and B2, respectively (p 0.008). There was no clinically significant difference for stone size, stone configuration (simple or complex), and complications.

Conclusion

Sampaio type B1 PCSs require increased number of access for achieving stone clearance. Therefore, surgeons should be aware and also inform patients that treatment of patients with Sampaio type B1 PCS may need high number of access during PNL procedure.     

Factors affecting the closed reduction of diaphyseal fractures of the femur

Introduction

This level II prospective study investigates patient and fracture-related factors likely to affect closed reduction time in the surgical treatment of femur fractures, and the effect these factors have on closed reduction time.

Patients and methods

Seventy-nine diaphyseal femur fractures of 75 patients were included in the present study. All fractures were treated with indirect closed reduction by manual traction using antegrade nailing and static, locked, reamed intramedullary nails. The three variables considered to influence the duration of closed reduction, that is, the type of fracture, BMI, and the preoperative period (time from injury to surgery), were evaluated either separately or in a combination of two or three of the variables. Their influence on the closed reduction time was analyzed and evaluated.

Results

In this study according to the outcomes, a preoperative period ≤24 h had a significant effect in shortening the reduction time. The reduction time was not significantly affected by the type of fracture. The reduction time was prolonged in overweight patients, but the difference was not significant. When the three variables BMI, preoperative period, and fracture types were evaluated together, the common effect of these three variables was not significant.

Conclusion

In conclusion, based on these results, we think that closed reduction should certainly be aimed for in femur fractures in which intramedullary nailing is planned. Also, early surgical intervention appears to have a beneficial effect on the success of closed reduction.     

Intraoperative management of tracheobronchial rupture after double-lumen tube intubation

Purpose

Tracheobronchial rupture is an uncommon but potentially serious complication of endotracheal intubation. In this study, the diagnosis and treatment strategies of a specific group of ruptures caused by double-lumen tube intubation are herein presented.

Methods

The medical records of 18 patients diagnosed and treated for tracheobronchial rupture after undergoing double-lumen tube intubation between January 1999 and October 2010 are analyzed retrospectively.

Results

In all cases, the ruptures occurred in the membranous portion. The average length of laceration was 2.44 ± 1.78 cm. The most common site of rupture was in the lower third of the trachea (n = 7, 39 %) or the left mainstem bronchus (n = 7, 39 %). One patient was diagnosed before incision using fiberoptic bronchoscopy, and 17 patients were diagnosed using direct vision of the rupture intraoperatively. All patients were treated successfully with surgery. There were no morbidities or mortalities recorded in relation to tracheobronchial rupture.

Conclusions

Thoracic surgeons must be alerted to the possibility for tracheobronchial rupture in patients intubated with double-lumen tubes, a procedure commonly used in thoracic surgery. Immediate repair must be performed for any laceration diagnosed intraoperatively.     

Proposal for the standardisation of multi-centre trials in nuclear medicine imaging: prerequisites for a European 123I-FP-CIT SPECT database

Purpose

Multi-centre trials are an important part of proving the efficacy of procedures, drugs and interventions. Imaging components in such trials are becoming increasingly common; however, without sufficient control measures the usefulness of these data can be compromised. This paper describes a framework for performing high-quality multi-centre trials with single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), using a pan-European initiative to acquire a normal control dopamine transporter brain scan database as an example.

Methods

A framework to produce high-quality and consistent SPECT imaging data was based on three key areas: quality assurance, the imaging protocol and system characterisation. Quality assurance was important to ensure that the quality of the equipment and local techniques was good and consistently high; system characterisation helped understand and where possible match the performance of the systems involved, whereas the imaging protocol was designed to allow a degree of flexibility to best match the characteristics of each imaging device.

Results

A total of 24 cameras on 15 sites from 8 different manufacturers were evaluated for inclusion in our multi-centre initiative. All results matched the required level of specification and each had their performance characterised. Differences in performance were found between different system types and cameras of the same type. Imaging protocols for each site were modified to match their individual characteristics to produce comparable high-quality SPECT images.

Conclusion

A framework has been designed to produce high-quality data for multi-centre SPECT studies. This framework has been successfully applied to a pan-European initiative to acquire a healthy control dopamine transporter image database.     

Pregnancy outcome of five patients with renal amyloidosis regarding familial Mediterranean fever

Familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) is an autosomal recessive disease affecting mainly patients of the Mediterranean basin and its major complication is the development of renal AA amyloidosis. On the other hand pregnancy with amyloidosis is not common; nevertheless, amyloidosis will complicate pregnancies also with the underlying disease and may cause terrible perinatal morbidities and mortalities. We report here the cases of five pregnant women and their pregnancy outcomes, who have been diagnosed with FMF complicated by renal amyloidosis. In the five cases, we observed that increased pregnancy complication such as small for gestational age, intrauterine growth restriction, preeclampsia and preterm birth.     

Serum iron metabolism markers including hepcidin in multiple sclerosis patients

The impact and pathogenesis of iron accumulation in multiple sclerosis (MS) is not yet clear. In this study, we investigated serum markers of iron metabolism, namely iron, ferritin, transferrin, total iron binding capacity (TIBC), and hepcidin in patients with MS, and compared to a healthy control group. Thirty-five stable relapse remitting MS patients (15 males and 20 females; mean age 38 ± 11 years) and thirty-five age-sex matched healthy controls (13 males and 22 females; mean age 38 ± 10 years) were included in this study. All patients were diagnosed with MS, according to the criteria of McDonald. Serum transferrin and TIBC levels were significantly lower (p = 0.02 and p = 0.03, respectively), whereas hepcidin, iron and ferritin values did not show any significant difference (p = 0.8, p = 0.2 and p = 0.8, respectively) in patients with MS compared to controls. There was no statistically significant correlation between iron metabolism markers and disease duration, Expanded Disability Status Scale and progression index. Our results were as expected from a chronic disease; thus were in favor of local, rather than a systemic impairment in iron metabolism in these patients. Our study, contributes to the establishment of further hypotheses on the role of hepcidin and iron metabolism in MS.     

Outcomes of Surgical Treatment of Primary Signet Ring Cell Carcinoma of the Colon and Rectum: 22 Cases Reviewed With Literature

Colorectal primary signet ring cell carcinoma (PSRCCR) is a rare entity with a dismal prognosis, mainly because of delayed diagnosis. The objective of this study was to investigate the clinicopathologic features and prognostic factors for PSRCCR. This is a retrospective study including the data of 22 patients with PSRCCR who underwent surgery. Patients were categorized by age, sex, tumor site, and stage. Fifteen patients were male. Median age was 40 years. Sites for metastases were lymph nodes (86.4%), peritoneum (40.9%), and liver (9.1%). Most of the patients (91%) had stage III or IV tumors. The rates of curative and palliative resections performed were equal. Mean overall survival and mean progression-free survival times were found to be 33.3 ± 7.1 months (95% confidence interval, 19.4–47.2 months) and 11.8 ± 3.5 months (95% confidence interval, 4.9–18.7 months), respectively. It was concluded that site of the tumor, presence of bowel obstruction, peritoneum and lung metastases, adjacent organ infiltration, TNM stage, and efficiency of surgery have significant effects on survival. All in all, these aggressive tumors are generally diagnosed at advanced stages. Depending on the situation, survival is shorter. A high degree of vigilance is required for these patients to avoid the negative impact of late diagnosis on survival.Key words: Signet ring cell, Colorectal cancer, Histopathology, SurvivalPrimary signet ring cell carcinoma is a tumor most commonly located in the stomach, and less frequently in the breast, gallbladder, bladder, and pancreas.¹ Primary signet ring cell carcinoma of the colon and rectum (PSRCCR) is a rare entity, with a reported incidence of less than 1%.² It has a markedly poor prognosis.³ Because symptoms often develop late, it is usually diagnosed at an advanced stage.⁴ Furthermore, it typically appears in young adults.⁵Macroscopically, PSRCCR shows the characteristic appearance of linitis plastica, as a shrunken, rigid structure.^1–5 Histologically, the neoplastic cells resemble signet rings because they contain abundant intracytoplasmic mucin, which pushes the nuclei to the periphery.^1–5 The presence of mucus secretion in microscopic examinations of the tumor is one of the most important parameters determining the biologic behavior of colorectal carcinomas; other factors are age, sex, tumor location, tumor diameter, grade, stage, lymphatic and vascular invasion, periserosal overgrowth, and distant metastasis.^6,7So far, only a limited number of case reports have been published on this subject. Most publications have reported on a small number of patients and have presented controversial results. The objective of this study was to investigate the characteristic clinicopathologic features of colorectal signet ring cell carcinomas and the parameters affecting prognosis within our patient group.