Prostatism: benign prostatic hyperplasia

The nature and impact of urinary incontinence experienced by patients receiving community nursing services: A cross-sectional cohort study

BACKGROUND

Nurses have played a pivotal role in the delivery of continence services yet little is known about the nature or impact of urinary symptoms experienced by patients in receipt of such care.

AIM

To define the nature and impact of urinary symptoms experienced by patients in receipt of community nursing services.

METHOD

The Leicestershire Urinary Symptoms Questionnaire was administered to 1078 patients with incontinence identified from 176 community nurses' caseloads in 157 general practices in England. Information included type and severity of urinary symptoms, impact on quality of life, help with coping, use of continence products and health service resources.

RESULTS

Nine hundred and ninety nine (92.7%) patients (median age 79.0 years) returned completed questionnaires. Most patients had incontinence between 1 and 5 years duration, women were more likely than men to have had long standing ( > 5 years) symptoms and more than half the sample reported severe leakage. Women were more likely than men to report symptoms of stress incontinence (71.7% and 46.8%, respectively, p < 0.001) and urge incontinence UI (86.3% vs. 74.8%, respectively, p < 0.01). Half of the men and most women also experienced leakage as a result of difficulty getting to, on or off, a toilet/commode. Men were more likely than women to report getting up three or more times a night to pass urine (53.6% vs. 37.0%, respectively, p < 0.05). Most patients reported that their symptoms had a significant impact on many aspects of quality of life, and 45.7% would be very dissatisfied to continue "the way they are now". Professional help appeared principally one of containment.

CONCLUSION

Many people with incontinence receiving community nursing services experience two or more urinary symptoms which, in the majority, have a significant impact on quality of life. Many older patients were not satisfied to "put up" with their urinary symptoms. Current service provision appears to be failing those who are most in need of such care.

Management of bladder, prostatic and pelvic floor disorders

Since its introduction in the late 1970s for the treatment of strabismus and blepharospasm, botulinum toxin (BoNT) has been increasingly used in the interventional treatment of several other disorders characterized by excessive or inappropriate muscle contractions. Over the years, the number of primary clinical publications has grown exponentially, and still continues to increase. It has been shown that BoNT blocks cholinergic nerve endings in the autonomic nervous system but does not block non-adrenergic non-cholinergic responses mediated by nitric oxide (NO). The present paper reviews a number of recent clinical indications for urological and pelvic floor dysfunctions, such as overactive and neurogenic bladder, non-bacterial prostatitis, benign prostatic hyperplasia, chronic anal fissure, or conditions associated to hyperactivity of the puborectalis muscle during straining. These indications provide a new promising palette of indications for future usage of BoNT in clinical practice.

Stress, hostility, and disease parameters of benign prostatic hyperplasia

OBJECTIVE

Psychological factors such as stress are known to influence activity in the sympathetic nervous system and hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis, systems that in turn have been implicated in the development of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). Associations between psychological stress and prostate function have not been directly examined. The objective of this study was to examine associations among stress, hostility, and BPH disease parameters.

METHODS

Eighty-three men diagnosed with BPH completed self-report and interview measures of stress and hostility followed by measures of urologic function.

RESULTS

Higher lifetime stress was associated with lower prostate volumes and residual urine volumes (p's < .05). By contrast, high recent stress and hostility were associated with greater residual urine (p's < .05). Stress and hostility were not associated with self-report ratings of urologic symptoms.

CONCLUSIONS

Stress and hostility were associated with objective measures of urologic functioning among men with BPH. Results highlight the need for increased attention in research and clinical settings toward associations between psychological factors and urologic disease.

Are indications for prostatectomy in octogenarians the same as for younger men?

Prostatectomy for benign hypertrophy of the prostate is usually performed to alleviate lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS). We assessed indications for and risks of prostatectomy in men 80 years of age and compared them to those for younger men in order to determine whether indications for prostatectomy in octogenarians are different than these for younger men. Medical records of 171 men comprised of 84 patients >80 years of age (mean 84.4) and 87 patients <65 years of age (mean 60.6) who underwent prostatectomy for benign prostate hypertrophy were reviewed. Data regarding indications for surgery, American Society of Anesthesiologists system grade, anesthesia and surgery performed, duration of hospitalization and intrahospital postoperative complications were obtained. The respective indications for surgery in the very elderly and younger patients were: urinary retention with indwelling catheter in 46 (55%) and 34 (39%) (p < 0.04), LUTS in 32 (38%) and 52 (59%) (p < 0.005), and gross hematuria in 6 (7%) and 1 (1.2%). Transurethral prostatectomy was performed in 47 elderly patients (56%) and in 30 young patients (34.5%). The other patients in each group underwent open (suprapubic prostatectomy) surgery. The overall complication rate was significantly higher in the elderly group (39% vs 22%, p < 0.05), with major complications occurring only in this group. Indications for surgery were different for octogenarians than for younger men. Morbidity and mortality rates were significantly higher among the elderly men. Age appears to be an independent risk factor for complications associated with prostatectomy.

Edge-guided boundary delineation in prostate ultrasound images

Accurate detection of prostate boundaries is required in many diagnostic and treatment procedures for prostate disease. In this paper, a new paradigm for guided edge delineation is described, which involves presenting automatically detected prostate edges as a visual guide to the observer, followed by manual editing. This approach enables robust delineation of the prostate boundaries, making it suitable for routine clinical use. The edge-detection algorithm is comprised of three stages. An algorithm called sticks is used to enhance contrast and at the same time reduce speckle in the transrectal ultrasound prostate image. The resulting image is further smoothed using an anisotropic diffusion filter. In the third stage, some basic prior knowledge of the prostate, such as shape and echo pattern, is used to detect the most probable edges describing the prostate. Finally, patient-specific anatomic information is integrated during manual linking of the detected edges. The algorithm was tested on 125 images from 16 patients. The performance of the algorithm was statistically evaluated by employing five expert observers. Based on this study, we found that consistency in prostate delineation increases when automatically detected edges are used as visual guide during outlining, while the accuracy of the detected edges was found to be at least as good as those of the human observers. The use of edge guidance for boundary delineation can also be extended to other applications in medical imaging where poor contrast in the images and the complexity in the anatomy limit the clinical usability of fully automatic edge-detection techniques.

The feasibility of MRI-guided whole prostate ablation with a linear aperiodic intracavitary ultrasound phased array

Over the past decade, numerous minimally invasive thermal procedures have been investigated to treat benign prostate hyperplasia and prostate cancer. Of these methods, ultrasound has shown considerable promise due to its ability to produce more precise and deeper thermal foci. In this study, a linear, transrectal ultrasound phased array capable of ablating large tissue volumes was fabricated and evaluated. The device was designed to be compatible for use with MRI guidance and thermometry. The intracavitary applicator increases treatable tissue volume by using an ultrasonic motor to provide a mechanical rotation angle of up to 100 degrees to a 62-element 1D ultrasound array. An aperiodic array geometry was used to reduce grating lobes. In addition, a specially designed Kapton interconnect was used to reduce cable crosstalk and hence also improve the acoustic efficiency of the array. MRI-guided in vivo and ex vivo experiments were performed to verify the array's large-volume ablative capabilities. Ex vivo bovine experiments were performed to assess the focusing range of the applicator. The array generated foci in a 3 cm (2 to 5 cm from the array surface along the axis normal to the array) by 5.5 cm (along the long axis of the array) by 6 cm (along the transverse axis of the array at a depth of 4 cm) volume. In vivo rabbit thigh experiments were performed to evaluate the lesion producing capabilities in perfused tissue. The array generated 3 cm x 2 cm x 2 cm lesions with 8 to 12 half-minute sonications equally spaced in the volume. The results indicate that transrectal ultrasound coagulation of the whole prostate is feasible with the developed device.

Epidemiology and classification of urinary incontinence

Urinary incontinence is a common symptom affecting the physical, psychological, social and economic well-being of individuals and their families. It also poses a considerable economic burden on health and social services. The literature reports widely varying prevalence rates for incontinence that are partially explained by methodological differences between studies. However, community-based studies indicate that approximately 6% of the population, particularly women and older people, will have urinary incontinence of sufficient severity to interfere with their quality of life. This represents a significant demand for health care. Although further research on prevalence is unlikely to add anything new to current knowledge on the size of the problem, more information is needed on the onset, progression and risk factors of urinary incontinence to inform methods of effective treatment and preventive strategies. In addition, there has been little investigation of the triggers to seeking professional help or of the response of health professionals to patients' demands for treatment, either for incontinence or other lower urinary tract symptoms. The aetiology of incontinence is multifactorial; incontinence is caused by pathophysiological impairments to the lower urinary tract and neurological system, as well as a range of external factors. The key to effective management, therefore, is a comprehensive assessment of the patient, including other lower urinary tract symptoms, so that appropriate intervention is tailored on a diagnosis and not on symptoms.

Gestational diabetes mellitus: controversies and current opinions

The past few years have seen significant controversy over the diagnosis and management of gestational diabetes and its influence on perinatal outcomes. The debate over who to screen and how to screen continues to rage. Even when a diagnosis has been made, there is a lack of consensus regarding appropriate management protocols and glycemic targets. In this review, we will examine many of the controversial areas in gestational diabetes, using contemporary data to discuss these issues.

Transurethral prostatectomy--new trends

Treatment for benign prostatic hypertrophy has changed drastically within the past 3 years. Two new procedures-visual laser ablation of the prostate and transurethral electrovaporization prostatectomy, as well as improvements in the transurethral prostatectomy-have resulted in decreased recovery time and early discharge. Postoperative nursing observations for the visual laser ablation of the prostate and transurethral electrovaporization prostatectomy are quite different than for the transurethral prostatectomy. Discharge teaching has become extremely important because patients are now being discharged within 24 hours and most often with a Foley catheter. Patient response to the new procedures has been positive even though there are some disadvantages.