Ilhan Celebi

Sexual dysfunction in male patients on hemodialysis: assessment with the International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF)

In this study we determine the sexual problems and the prevalence of erectile dysfunction (ED) in male hemodialysis patients by means of the International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF). A total of 187 male patients were included in the study. All of the patients who underwent hemodialysis were asked to complete the IIEF questionnaire. The IIEF domain scores were calculated and erectile dysfunction grading was determined on erectile function domain. Patients were also asked to report whether they had disclosed their sexual problems to physicians or not.The mean age was 49.3±13.2 y and the duration of hemodialysis was 38.1±8.4 months. By means of the IIEF, the prevalence of erectile dysfunction of any degree was 80.7%. The prevalence of any ED for the patients <50 y and ≥50 y was 74.5% and 86.6%, respectively. The prevalence and the severity of ED was significantly higher in patients ≥50 y. The frequency of intercourse attempts during the last four weeks was 1–2 in 130 (69.5%) of patients. Only 1% of patients disclosed their erectile problems and sought medical assistance prior to our study.Erectile dysfunction is highly prevalent in hemodialysis patients. The prevalence and the severity of ED increased with age. Evaluations for ED should be included in routine assessment of hemodialysis patients.

Development of vesical calculi following tension-free vaginal tape procedure

We present a case of a bladder stone that had formed around the intravesical portion of tension-free vaginal tape (TVT) material following unnoticed bladder perforation during the procedure. Endoscopic lithotripsy of the bladder calculi was performed and the TVT sling material was removed by an endoscopic approach. High clinical suspicion of bladder complications is necessary when evaluating patients presenting with urinary symptoms after a TVT procedure.

Efficacy and safety of sildenafil for treating erectile dysfunction in patients on dialysis

Objective  To assess the efficacy of sildenafil for erectile dysfunction (ED) in patients on haemodialysis (HD) or peritoneal dialysis (PD), as men with end‐stage renal disease (ESRD) often have sexual dysfunction (up to 82% among those on chronic dialysis).

Relation between acute urinary retention, chronic prostatic inflammation and accompanying elevated prostate-specific antigen

Objective. To determine if there is a relationship between acute urinary retention (AUR), the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level and chronic inflammation of the prostate. We therefore studied patients with benign prostatic obstruction (BPO) with (n=64) or without (n=168) acute urinary retention (AUR) who underwent transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP) in a retrospective case control study. Material and methods. Between 2001 and 2004, a total of 232 patients underwent TURP due to BPO with or without AUR. The mean values of age, prostate volume, weight of resected prostate and PSA level and the histopathologic results of patients with and without AUR were compared. χ2 analysis was used to examine the relationship between prostatic inflammation and AUR. The contribution of each variable to AUR was assessed by means of multiple linear regression. Results. A total of 64 patients (28%) were operated on for AUR due to BPO. There were no statistical differences between patients with or without AUR with respect to the mean values of PSA, percent free PSA, prostate size or weight of the resected prostate tissue. Elevated PSA values (≥4.0 ng/ml) were detected in 64% and 38% of the patients in the AUR and non-AUR groups, respectively (p=0.01). Histopathological re-evaluation demonstrated that chronic prostatic inflammation was present in 56% and 37% of the specimens in the AUR and non-AUR groups, respectively (p=0.014). In the AUR group, the mean PSA level was significantly higher in patients with than without prostatic inflammation (7.75±5.26 vs 5.07±3.21 ng/ml; p=0.022). The odds ratio of AUR for patients with chronic prostatic inflammation and elevated PSA was determined as 4.14 (95% CI 1.65–10.41). Multiple linear regression revealed that prostatic inflammation made a significant contribution to AUR. Conclusions. Chronic prostatic inflammation may be histopathological evidence of both elevated PSA level and AUR; hence it may play a role in the pathophysiology of AUR.

A NEW METHOD FOR THE EVALUATION OF ERECTILE DYSFUNCTION: SILDENAFIL PLUS DOPPLER ULTRASONOGRAPHY

PURPOSE Of the various methods of hemodynamic studies performed to evaluate erectile dysfunction penile color Doppler ultrasound is currently considered the best. However, intracavernous injection is invasive and has adverse effects, such as prolonged erection. We evaluated whether sildenafil may be used as a substitute for intracavernous agents when assessing impotence on color Doppler ultrasound. MATERIALS AND METHODS A total of 42 patients with erectile dysfunction underwent color Doppler ultrasound before and after intracavernous injection of 60 mg. papaverine with genital and audiovisual sexual stimulation. Peak flow and end diastolic velocity were measured in the recorded waveforms obtained 0, 1, 5, 10 and 20 minutes after injection. The patients also underwent color Doppler ultrasound after a 50 mg. oral dose of sildenafil with genital and audiovisual sexual stimulation not before 3 days after the papaverine study. The same parameters were measured at 30, 45, 60, 75 and 90 minutes, and compared with the values obtained after papaverine injection. RESULTS Mean peak flow velocity significantly increased after oral sildenafil starting at 30 minutes and achieving a maximum value at 60 minutes. There were no significant differences in the 2 methods in mean peak velocity 1, 5, 10 and 20 minutes after papaverine injection, and 30, 45, 60, 75 and 90 minutes after oral sildenafil administration. Penile color Doppler ultrasound with intracavernous papaverine injection is accepted as the gold standard but color Doppler ultrasound with sildenafil has 90% sensitivity and 100% selectivity for demonstrating arterial insufficiency. Due to prolonged erection 5 patients (11.9%) in the papaverine group required pharmacological detumescence by intracavernous injection. No adverse effects of sildenafil were observed. CONCLUSIONS Sildenafil administration achieved increased peak flow velocity comparable to that after intracavernous papaverine injection. With no prolonged erection sildenafil emerges as a safer alternative compared to more invasive intracavernous injection.

Echo contrast-enhanced power Doppler ultrasonography for assessment of angiogenesis in renal cell carcinoma.

Tumoral growth is an angiogenesis‐dependent event. Although there are studies about the importance of histopathologic angiogenesis in various malignancies, the assessment of the angiogenesis by radiologic techniques is not well established. The aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy of echo contrast‐enhanced power Doppler ultrasonography (PDUS) in determining the angiogenic status of renal cell carcinoma (RCC).

Effects of sildenafil on ocular perfusion demonstrated by color Doppler ultrasonography

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of sildenafil on ocular hemodynamics by color Doppler ultrasonography (CDU). In all, 38 patients with erectile dysfunction diagnosed by International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF) and Sexual Health Inventory of Men (SHIM) scores were included into the study. After taking 100 mg of oral sildenafil citrate, all patients underwent CDU examination of central retinal artery at 60 and 75 min and CDU examination of cavernosal artery at 20, 60 and 75 min. All of the side effects during and after the test were also recorded. The mean cavernous artery peak systolic flow velocity increased significantly after sildenafil. However, no significant change was determined in central retinal artery flow parameters including peak systolic flow velocity, end-diastolic flow velocity, resistive index, pulsatility index, volume and diameter. Five patients experienced ocular side effects. No significant change was observed in retinal artery CDU measurements of patients having ocular side effects. Sildenafil has no effect on ocular hemodynamics on the basis of CDU. Ocular side effects may be the result of other changes in retinal photoreceptors rather than the ocular circulation.

Renal Cell Carcinoma with Gallbladder Metastasis

The nature of polypoid masses within the gallbladder is difficult to define preoperatively. Tumors larger than 1 cm in size are strongly related to malignancy, but they are not always primary tumors of the gallbladder. We present a patient who underwent radical surgery for renal cell carcinoma and the preoperative finding of a polypoid mass within the gallbladder turned out to be a metastatic lesion.

Thrombosis and priapism in a patient with Henoch-Schonlein purpura

Henoch-Schönlein purpura (HSP) belongs to the category of systemic small-vessel vasculitis. Although long-term outcome is generally good, serious complications may occur. Thrombosis and priapism have been reported only as extremely rare complications of HSP. We describe a 37-year-old man who developed recurrent thrombotic events shortly after he had been diagnosed as having HSP. Although he had additional risk factors for thrombosis, such as prothrombin G20210A mutation and use of celecoxib before the last episode, temporal relation of the thrombotic attacks to the onset of HSP suggest that the disease itself may lead to a prothrombotic state. This case is the first adult HSP patient with priapism, which probably developed secondary to thrombosis of the dorsal penile vein.

The value of PSA, free-to-total PSA ratio and PSA density in the prediction of pathologic stage for clinically localized prostate cancer.

Objective: The ability of prostate-specific antigen (PSA), free/total PSA and PSA density to predict the pathologic stage in prostate cancer has not been clear yet. In this study, we evaluated the value of PSA subgroups in the prediction of pathologic stage after radical prostatectomy. Methods: A total of 42 subjects 55–78-years-old who underwent radical retropubic prostatectomy were included in the study. Preoperative PSA, free/total PSA and PSA density (PSAD) values were compared according to the pathologic stages of radical prostatectomy specimens. Receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curves were measured for each parameter. Results: The clinical stage that was estimated for all patients was between T1N0M0 and T2bN0M0. Pathologic examination revealed organ-confined disease in 18 patients. The area under curve (AUC) for organ confinement was 0.553 for PSA, 0.446 for free/total PSA ratio and 0.706 for PSAD. Cut-off values providing the best sensitivity and specificity in ROC analysis for PSA, free/total PSA and PSAD were 7.1, 0.15, and 0.17, respectively (likelihood ratio: 0.9, 1 and 2). The positive predictive values at these cut-off values were 0.54, 0.56, and 0.70, respectively. Only PSAD cut-off values was found statistically borderline significant for predicting organ-confined disease. Conclusion: While PSAD is more helpful than PSA and free/total PSA ratio for prediction of organ-confined disease, none of these parameters are significant predictor of pathologic stage for clinically localized prostate cancer.