Trans-obturator surgery for stress urinary incontinence: 1-year follow-up of a cohort of 52 women

This study was a 1-year follow-up of a cohort of 52 women who underwent trans-obturator tape (TOT) procedures using Obtape. Follow-up information was available for 45/52 (87%) women. The rate of erosions was 8/52 (15%). Among 34 women examined, 26% experienced tenderness on palpation of operative site, and 72% were objectively cured on pad test. Forty women completed questionnaires (median Incontinence Impact Questionnaire-7, 0; median Urogenital Distress Inventory-6, 17) and of those, 93% would recommend TOT to a friend. We found a high rate of erosions among our cohort. Our high rate of erosions may be a result of our review of the majority of the cohort, and it is likely related to the specific device used (Obtape). The majority of women were satisfied with the outcome. Before introducing new procedures into widespread clinical practice, it is important to rigorously investigate their outcomes.     

Pregnancy after TVT-O: case report and literature review

A 37-year-old woman previously treated with TVT-O developed recurrent symptoms of stress urinary incontinence during pregnancy. Symptoms started to develop later in the second trimester and progressed gradually to affect her quality of life at the end of pregnancy. In the event she had a very quick spontaneous vaginal delivery at 40 weeks’ gestation. Postnatal physiotherapy successfully controlled the incontinence symptoms and urodynamic studies demonstrated no incontinence with a stable bladder and a normal flow rate. The patient remains well 2 years following delivery with no further treatment.     

Prevalence of nonmotor symptoms in Parkinson's disease in an international setting; study using nonmotor symptoms questionnaire in 545 patients.

2006, there was, no single instrument (questionnaire or scale) for attempting a comprehensive assessment of the wide range of nonmotor symptoms (NMS) of Parkinson's disease (PD). The PD nonmotor group, a multidisciplinary group of experts including patient group representatives developed and validated the NMS screening questionnaire (NMSQuest) comprising 30 items. The NMSQuest is a self completed screening tool designed to draw attention to the presence of NMS. In this paper, we present the results gathered from 545 patients using the definitive version of the NMSQuest highlighting the prevalence of the wide range of NMS flagged in the NMSQuest from consecutive PD patients in an international setting.     

Brain structures in pediatric maltreatment-related posttraumatic stress disorder: a sociodemographically matched study.

BACKGROUND: Previous investigations suggest that maltreated children evidence alterations of chemical mediators of stress and adverse brain development. Previous anatomical magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) brain studies have not controlled for socioeconomic status. METHODS: In this study, 28 psychotropic na?ve children and adolescents with maltreatment-related posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and 66 sociodemographically similar healthy control subjects underwent comprehensive clinical assessments and anatomical MRI brain scans. RESULTS: Compared with control subjects, subjects with PTSD had smaller intracranial, cerebral, and prefrontal cortex, prefrontal cortical white matter, and right temporal lobe volumes and areas of the corpus callosum and its subregions (2, 4, 5, 6, and 7), and larger frontal lobe cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) volumes than control subjects. The total midsagittal area of corpus callosum and middle and posterior regions remained smaller in subjects with PTSD, whereas right, left, and total lateral ventricles and frontal lobe CSF were proportionally larger than in control subjects, after adjustment for cerebral volume. Brain volumes positively correlated with age of onset of PTSD trauma and negatively correlated with duration of abuse. Significant gender x group effect demonstrated greater lateral ventricular volume increases in maltreated male subjects with PTSD than maltreated female subjects with PTSD. No hippocampal differences were seen. CONCLUSIONS: These data provide further evidence to suggest that maltreatment-related PTSD is associated with adverse brain development. These data also suggest that male children may be more vulnerable to these effects.     

Consumer-orientated outcomes in discharge planning: a pilot study

? The desired outcome of health care provision can only be known by evaluating care from the perspective of the consumer. ? An exploratory study was undertaken to develop and evaluate a research instrument (a semistructured telephone interview guide) as a measure of patient outcomes in discharge planning. ? A sample of 29 patients was recruited from three medical wards of a large tertiary referral teaching hospital in Sydney, Australia. ? Participants were contacted at home after discharge from hospital and interviewed by telephone. Their perceptions of hospital discharge and continuing care needs were investigated. ? Preliminary analysis of the data obtained in the pilot study demonstrated that there were deficiencies in hospital discharge procedures which impacted on continuing care and that patients can contribute useful information for evaluating and improving discharge planning.     

Bronchodilatation and attenuation of exercise-induced bronchospasm by PY 108-068, a new calcium antagonist

The effect of a new dihydropyridine-derivative calcium antagonist, PY 108-068, on resting and postexercise flow rates was evaluated in 12 adult asthmatic subjects in a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, cross-over study. The study consisted of 2 periods, each lasting for 3 days. For a given period a single dose of PY 108-068 (or placebo) was given orally, 75 mg on the first day and 150 mg on the second and third day. Spirometry was obtained at 30-min intervals thereafter. On Day 3, 75 min after the medication was given, a 6-min treadmill exercise test was performed breathing dry air. The mean maximal FEV1 recorded after 150 mg of PY 108-068 on Day 2 was 15 +/- 4% higher than the daily baseline (p less than 0.05), whereas after placebo the maximal FEV1 value was not different from the daily baseline. Also, the mean FEV1 values, expressed as percent of the daily predrug baseline, were significantly higher at 2 and 3 h after 150 mg of PY 108-068 than the respective values after placebo (110 +/- 4 compared with 95 +/- 1, and 106 +/- 5 compared with 91 +/- 3, respectively). Exercise-induced bronchospasm (EIB), expressed as maximal percent fall in FEV1 from preexercise baseline, was attenuated by PY 108-068 as compared with placebo (% delta FEV1 of 20 +/- 6 and 40 +/- 4, respectively; p less than 0.001). Protection against EIB did not correlate with the resting bronchodilation induced by PY 108-068, but was more likely if the patient had eosinophilia. Thus, PY 108-068 not only attenuates EIB but also causes resting bronchodilation, a unique finding for calcium channel blockers.