Liangren Liu

Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Percutaneous Nephrolithotomy for Patients in the Supine Versus Prone Position

PURPOSE To evaluate the efficacy and safety of percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL) for patients in the supine position vs prone position. MATERIALS AND METHODS Eligible studies were identified from electronic databases (Cochrane CENTRAL, Medline and EMBASE). The database search, quality assessment, and data extraction were independently performed by two reviewers. Efficacy (stone-free rate, operative time) and safety (complication, such as fever and transfusion rate) were explored by using Review Manager 5.0. Sensitivity analysis was performed to explore the influence of low-quality studies. RESULTS Two randomized controlled trials and two case-control studies including 389 patients met the inclusion criteria. Meta-analysis of extractable data showed that PCNL in the supine position was associated with a significantly shorter operative time than PCNL in the prone position (mean difference: -24.84; 95% confidence interval [CI]: -34.45 to -15.23; P < 0.00001). There was no difference between the positions with regard to success rate (odds ratio [OR]: 1.16; 95% CI: 0.68-1.48; P = 0.59), complication (OR: 1.09; 95% CI: 0.67-1.80; P = 0.72), transfusion rate (OR: 2.19; 95% CI: 0.93-5.13; P = 0.07), and fever rate (OR: 0.39; 95% CI: 0.13-1.16; P = 0.09). CONCLUSION PCNL in the supine position took a shorter operative time than the prone position, but both positions appeared to be equivalent with regard to the stone-free rate and complication rate, transfusion rate, and fever rate. In brief, PCNL in the supine position is as effective and safe as PCNL in the prone position and was an alternate option for removal of renal calculi in PCNL.

The efficacy and safety of tubeless percutaneous nephrolithotomy: a systematic review and meta-analysis

The objective of this study was to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate the efficacy and safety of tubeless versus standard percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL). Relevant randomized or quasi-randomized controlled trials studies were identified from electronic database (Cochrane CENTRAL, Medline and EMBASE et al.). The retrieval time ended in August 2010. The quality of the included trials was assessed and the data were extracted independently by two reviewers. We divided the participants who received standard PCNL into two subgroups: small tube (4–10 F) group and big tube (14–24 F) group to reduce heterogeneity and bias. Efficacy (hospital stay time, operative time, stone-free rate) and safety (postoperative pain and analgesia requirement, postoperative fever, blood transfusion, urine leakage) were explored by using review manager v5.0. Fourteen randomized controlled trials comprising 776 subjects met the inclusion criteria. Our meta-analysis showed that there were statistically significant differences in hospital stay, postoperative analgesic requirement and urine leakage between tubeless and standard PCNL. In operative time, significant difference was found between tubeless and big tube group. No statistically significant differences were found in stone-free rate, postoperative fever, and blood transfusion between tubeless and standard PCNL. In conclusion, Tubeless PCNL was an effective and safe procedure for treatment of renal stones in selected patients, with shorter hospital stay, less analgesic requirement, lower urine leakage and without increased complications. Patients can receive great benefit from tubeless PCNL and it will become more palatable to patients as well as more cost-effective than standard PCNL in the future.

Evaluation of Interleukin-8 in Expressed Prostatic Secretion as a Reliable Biomarker of Inflammation in Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia

OBJECTIVES To evaluate the efficacy of interleukin-8 (IL-8) as a possible biomarker for diagnosis and treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) with chronic prostatitis. Histologic inflammation can be demonstrated in most BPH pathologic specimens. To provide objective parameters of inflammation, this prospective study quantified the IL-8 in expressed prostatic secretion (EPS) from BPH patients with or without histologic inflammation. METHODS White blood cell (WBC) count and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays of the EPS for IL-8 were done in 44 patients who underwent transurethral prostatic resection because of benign prostatic enlargement before the operations. The correlation between IL-8 and WBC count in EPS; prostatic specific antigen; and International Prostate Symptom Score, irritative, and obstructive subscores was determined by Pearson correlation analysis. RESULTS IL-8 was detectable in all patients (the threshold of detection for IL-8 is 5 pg/mL). Twenty-one (47.7%) BPH patients had chronic prostatitis. The mean level of IL-8 in EPS was higher in BPH with chronic prostatitis than in simple BPH (median +/- SE, 8175 +/- 3789 pg/mL vs 2806 +/- 1009 pg/mL). The catheter and age seemed to have no impact on the level of IL-8 in EPS. Statistically significant correlation was only found between IL-8 and WBC count. The sensitivity and specificity of IL-8 in EPS identifying the BPH with chronic prostatitis from the simple BPH were 85.7% and 91.3% respectively, at a cut-point of 3992 pg/mL. CONCLUSIONS IL-8 is significantly elevated in BPH patients with chronic prostatitis. IL-8 in EPS can serve as a reliable biomarker applicable to identifying BPH with chronic prostatitis from simple BPH.

Phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitors for lower urinary tract symptoms secondary to benign prostatic hyperplasia: a systematic review and meta-analysis

OBJECTIVES To evaluate the efficacy and safety of phosphodiesterase-5 (PDE-5) inhibitors for treating lower urinary tract symptoms secondary to benign prostatic hyperplasia. METHODS Randomized controlled trials were identified and extracted from MEDLINE, Embase, Cochrane Central, and relevant reference lists. The database search, quality assessment, and data extraction were independently performed by 2 reviewers. Heterogeneity was analyzed using the chi-square test and I(2) test. If lacking of heterogeneity, fixed-effects models were used for the meta-analysis, otherwise random-effects models were used. RESULTS A total of 5 studies (11 randomized controlled trials) were identified from the search strategy. Compared with placebo, short-term trials (≤12 weeks) indicated that PDE-5 inhibitors significantly improved the International Prostate Symptom Score (mean difference -2.60, 95% confidence interval [CI] -3.12 to -2.07; P < .00001), and statistical significance was observed in the International Prostate Symptom Score irritative and obstructive subscore, International Prostate Symptom Score quality of life and erectile function. However, no statistically significant difference was detected in maximal urinary flow rate (mean difference 0.21, 95% CI -0.21-0.64; P = .32) and postvoid residual urine volume (mean difference 0.09, 95% CI -4.71-4.89; P = .80). No statistically significant difference was found between the 2 groups in the incidence of serious adverse events (relative risk 0.52, 95% CI 0.25-1.07; P = .07), despite that adverse event with a greater incidence was detected in the PDE-5 group (relative risk 1.87, 95% CI 1.31-2.68; P = .0005). CONCLUSIONS As the first-line treatment of erectile dysfunction, the PDE-5 inhibitor is also effective and safe for lower urinary tract symptoms secondary to benign prostatic hyperplasia. It could be considered as the first-line treatment in the future for the treatment of patients with comorbid benign prostatic hyperplasia and erectile dysfunction.

The safety and efficacy of laparoscopic donor nephrectomy for renal transplantation: an updated meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND Currently, the laparoscopic technique is widely used for living donor nephrectomy. Does it provides adequate safety and benefits for the living donor? We performed a meta-analysis to evaluate the safety and efficacy of laparoscopic donor nephrectomy (LDN) as well as an analysis of postoperative quality of life compared with the open donor nephrectomy (ODN). METHODS Eligible studies were identified from electronic databases: Cochrane CENTRAL, PubMed, and EMBASE as of October 2011. Relevant parameters explored by-using Review Manager V5.0 included operative time, warm ischemia time, intraoperative blood loss, hospital stay and time to return to work. RESULTS Compared with ODN, LDN showed a shorter hospital stay (days; mean difference [MD]: -1.27, P < .00001) and time to return to work (days; MD: -16.35, P < .00001), less intraoperative blood loss (ml; MD: -101.23, P = .0001) without an increase among donor intraoperative and postoperative complications or compromise of recipient graft function. Hand-assisted laparoscopic donor nephrectomy (HLDN) showed a shorter warm ischemia time (minutes) than the standard laparoscopic donor nephrectomy (MD: -1.02, P < .00001). We also observed that hospital stay (days) significantly favored SLDN compared with HLDN (MD: 0.33, P < .005), but operative times, intraoperative estimated blood loss, and donor postoperative complications were not significantly different between them. Donor postoperative quality of life revealed only physical functioning and bodily pain scores to significantly favor LDN. CONCLUSIONS LDN is a safe surgical procedure for a living donor.

Human Umbilical Mesenchymal Stem Cells-Seeded Bladder Acellular Matrix Grafts for Reconstruction of Bladder Defects in a Canine Model

Background The goal of this study was to explore the feasibility of utilizing human umbilical mesenchymal stem cells (HUMSCs)-seeded Bladder acellular matrix graft (BAMG) for bladder reconstruction in a canine model. Methodology/Principal Findings HUMSCs were isolated from newborn umbilical cords and identified by flow cytometry. Partial cystectomy was performed in the experimental and control group. Bladder defects were repaired with HUMSCs-BAMG in the experimental group and repaired with unseeded-BAMG in control group. The implanted grafts were harvested after surgery. H&E and immunohistochemistry staining were performed to evaluate the regeneration of the bladder defect. Primary cultured HUMSCs displayed typical fibroblast morphology with spindle-shaped. Flow cytometry indicated that these cells were positive for CD105 (97.3%) and CD44 (99%), but negative for CD34 (2.8%), CD31 (2.1%), and CD45 (1.7%). Immunohistochemistry staining showed that a multilayered urothelium and well-developed smooth muscle were observed at 12 weeks in experiment group. In contrast, multilayered urothelial tissues were also observed at 12 weeks in group B, but well-developed smooth muscle bundles were observed. Conclusions/Significance Our preliminary results demonstrate that UMSC-seeded BAMGs are superior to unseeded BAMGs to promote the regeneration of bladder defects. Our findings indicated that HUMSCs may be a potential cell source for bladder tissue engineering.

Role of Tramadol in Premature Ejaculation: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Objective: This systematic review was performed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of tramadol in patients with premature ejaculation (PE). Methods: A systematic search of PubMed®, Embase® and the Cochrane Library was performed to identify all randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that compared the effects of tramadol with placebo or no drug for patients with PE. The outcomes included post-therapeutic intravaginal ejaculation latency time (IELT), increases in IELT, satisfaction with sexual intercourse, control over ejaculation and side effects (SEs). The Cochrane Collaboration Review Manager software (RevMan 5.1.4) was used for statistical analysis. Results: A total of 5 trials, involving 715 patients, met the inclusion criteria. The synthesized data from these RCTs indicated that compared with the control, tramadol significantly increased IELT values post-therapeutically (SMD 3.51, 95% CI 2.14-4.88, p < 0.00001) and changes in IELT values were more pronounced in the tramadol group (SMD 2.87, 95% CI 2.63-3.10, p < 0.00001). Satisfaction with sexual intercourse and the ability to control ejaculation were both improved in patients in the tramadol group (p < 0.05). The incidence of SEs in the tramadol group were significantly higher than in the control group (RR 3.55, 95% CI 1.34-9.40, p = 0.01), however most SEs were mild or moderate and transient. Conclusions: Tramadol may be effective in PE treatment, especially when patients have failed therapies, like selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors. However, the possibility of drug addiction and SEs should still be considered before initial use or after chronic use of this agent. More high-quality (clear randomization sequences, allocation concealment and blinding introduction), long-term, RCTs with a large number of PE patients are expected.

Solifenacin for overactive bladder: a systematic review and meta-analysis

This study aims to evaluate the efficacy and safety of solifenacin for treating overactive bladder. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were identified and extracted from MEDLINE, Embase, and CENTRAL. The quality of the included RCTs was assessed using the Jadad score, and heterogeneity was analyzed using the chi-squared test. The data of the included RCTs were collected, extracted, and assessed by our protocol. A total of nine RCTs were identified from the search strategy. Compared with the placebo and tolterodine treatments, both short-term (mostly 12-week) trials indicated that solifenacin significantly reduced urgency episodes, micturitions, and incontinence episodes per 24 h. Compared with the solifenacin (5 mg) group, the solifenacin (10 mg) group was significantly better in terms of the number of micturitions per 24 h. With regard to adverse effects, the patients treated with solifenacin had significantly higher rates of constipation and blurred vision than patients treated with tolterodine. The solifenacin therapy was not inferior to tolterodine in terms of efficacy profiles and had a similar incidence of overall adverse events compared with tolterodine treatment. Solifenacin (5 mg) is thus a recommended dose because of its reported balance between efficacy and acceptable tolerability.

Therapeutic Outcome of Fluorescence Cystoscopy Guided Transurethral Resection in Patients with Non- Muscle Invasive Bladder Cancer: A Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials

Objectives To conduct a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) to assess the therapeutic outcome of fluorescence cystoscopy (FC) guided transurethral resection (TUR) in non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC). Materials and Methods Relevant RCTs were identified from electronic database (MEDLINE, Embase and the Cochrane Library). The proceedings of relevant congress were also searched. The primary parameters were recurrence rate, the time to fist recurrence, recurrence free survival rate (RFS) and progression rate. Results 12 RCTs including 2258 patients, which were identified for analysis in our study. Our study showed that the FC group have lower recurrence rate than the white light cystoscopy (WLC) group with statistically significant difference (OR: 0.5; p<0.00001). The time of the FC group first recurrence delayed significantly 7.39 weeks than WLC group (MD: 7.39 weeks; p<0.0001). There was a statistically significant difference in favor of FC in RFS at 1 yr (HR: 0.69; p<0.00001) and 2 yrs (HR: 0.65; p=0.0004). However, the FC group cannot significantly reduce the rate of progression into muscle invasive bladder cancer compared with the WLC group (OR: 0.85; p=0.39). Conclusions FC guided TUR was demonstrated to be an effective procedure for delaying recurrence of NMIBC. Unfortunately, FC guided TUR could not significantly decrease the rate of progression into muscle invasive bladder cancer.

The presence and clinical implication of intraductal carcinoma of prostate in metastatic castration resistant prostate cancer

Intraductal carcinoma of prostate (IDC‐P) is always underestimated pathological pattern in prostate cancer and its role is still unclear in castration resistant prostate cancer (CRPC). This study was conducted to investigate the presence and the roles of IDC‐P in patients with metastatic CRPC.