Tag Archive for: LUTS

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May Editorial: The Current Hot Topics in Functional Urology

BJUI-May-2015-cover_smallFor some time, the challenge represented by managing the overactive bladder (OAB) has been dominant in functional urology research. The introduction of new therapies has galvanised the area, with mirabegron showing strong promise for many patients as a monotherapy. In addition, the potential for combined therapy using mirabegron with established antimuscarinics has recently been reported for urgency urinary incontinence [1]. Now that the place of onabotulinum-A injections in refractory cases is firmly established, management options have clearly taken a step forward in recent years. However, there remain people for whom even the more comprehensive current options are inadequate or intolerable. The need for basic science research remains a priority, in the hope of translation into clinical options. In this month’s BJUI, Aizawa et al. [2] report responses in an animal model to an inhibitor of fatty acid amide hydrolase, showing how exploiting the endocannabinoid pathway might be a translational focus for entirely new approaches in OAB. They consider an issue that is very important in developing clinical options, which is that the systems regulating bladder function are also fundamental in other organs, such as the CNS. As the compound they studied does not cross the blood–brain barrier, the potential generation of CNS adverse effects is reduced, which would be important for its potential as a new therapy.

OAB is a symptom syndrome based on storage-type LUTS [3]. Increasingly the field of functional urology is recognising the large number of people who present with voiding and post-micturition LUTS yet do not have BOO. Currently, there are no satisfactory treatment options for affected people and the symptoms can have considerable impact. Frustratingly, current diagnostic methods rely on urodynamic testing to establish whether the presence of detrusor underactivity explains voiding LUTS in an individual patient. Recently, the profession has established a move towards using symptoms to categorise the clinical need in patients [4]. Accordingly, the International Continence Society has established a working group to generate terminology for underactive bladder (UAB), which will report this year, including a symptom-based definition. A symptomatic diagnosis would be very helpful to enable therapy development to proceed without the need for urodynamic testing. Also, in this month’s BJUI, Kajbafzadeh et al. [5] report a clinical trial in UAB using transcutaneous interferential electrical stimulation in children. The treatment was delivered in the context of the rather laborious process currently required for managing this difficult problem, namely diet and fluid manipulation, scheduled voiding, toilet training, and pelvic floor and abdominal muscles relaxation training. The electrical stimulation was demonstrably beneficial, and included responses for the highly troublesome symptom of nocturnal enuresis. The comparatively straightforward nature of this therapeutic approach potentially makes it a valuable tool for dealing with a notoriously difficult problem.

Marcus J. Drake, Senior Lecturer
School of Clinical Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK

 

References

 

 

EAU 2016 Congress Day 3

Das bringt mich weiter! While the sun was shining in Munich, the 3rd day of the 31st EAU Annual Congress continued with very well attended plenary and poster sessions. And that is no wonder because the EAU Scientific Committee had created such an attractive program, including amazing plenary sessions during the morning and a plethora of informative poster sessions in the afternoon.

 

Professor Hendrik Borgmann (@HendrikBorgmann) has already covered highlights of the opening days 1 and 2 of this year’s Congress in his BJUI blog. We will give you some highlights of Day 3 and highly recommend you to take a look on EAU congress website, Day 3, which has archived a huge amount of material to allow you to catch up on sessions you may have missed. Indeed, lots of webcasts are available!

 

We focused on non-oncology plenary morning sessions and oncology poster sessions afternoon. Here are some of our highlights:

SURGERY IN THE ELDERLY – As our urological patients become older and older, surgery for octogenarians, or even nonagenarians, is increasingly common. The morning session covered various aspects on diagnosis and treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia and other urological conditions in the ageing patient.

Professor Cosimo De Nunzio began the morning with “Highlights” on lower urinary tract symptoms and prostatic disease presented during this year’s EAU congress. Also this year, as many as every third abstract was on either prostate cancer or prostatic hyperplasia.

EAU 3-1

Indeed, the plenary session on Day 3 also covered prostatic disease.

Professor Alexander Bachmann talked about surgery for BPO in the elderly. He pointed out that in elderly (high-risk) patients we do not need a complete anatomical tissue removal, we do not need a (very) long-term follow-up and that we do not need tissue for prostate cancer diagnosis. Instead, we need a safe and efficient operation with individual adaptation of the technique and preferably feasibility in an ambulatory setting or local anaesthesia.

EAU 3-2

Professor Bachmann further emphasized that it would be preferable if surgery for the elderly would be performed by experienced surgeons, and that age per se is not a reason to not operate. There are several new minimally invasive operations available, and especially for elderly less is often more.

HOW AND WHEN TO STOP ANTICOAGULATION – Managing perioperative thromboprophylaxis for patients who already receive anticoagulants remains a challenge. Associate professor Daniel Eberli and Professor Per Morten Sandset covered many of these aspects in their helpful presentations.

EAU 3-3

Dr. Eberli told us that bridging therapy (options for stopping or not stopping anticoagulation in the above figure) is eminence-based, as no papers exist showing benefits. He also presented data from the recent NEJM trial (BRIDGE study; see Table below), which showed that stopping anticoagulation without bridging was non-inferior to perioperative bridging for the prevention of arterial thromboembolism and decreased the risk of major bleeding.

EAU 3-4

Dr. Eberli gave us all a take home message to discuss and question our local bridging guidelines as new evidence is very likely not supporting them (concluding slide below).

EAU 3-5

Professor Sandset recommended that during the perioperative period only use aspirin in high-risk patients, that is, those with recent thrombotic event or extensive coronary heart disease. He also informed us that stopping antiplatelet therapy 5 days before surgery (figure below) is often the way to go, and agreed with Dr. Eberli regarding bridging therapy statements.

EAU 3-6

Professor Sandset also gave helpful information regarding use of direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) in urological surgery:

EAU 3-7

There were numerous poster sessions available on Day 3, as usual, many of them on prostate cancer. We have selected some of the highlight abstracts presented.

PROSTATE CANCER – On Day 3, prostate cancer presentations dominated once again in a number of poster, abstract and thematic sessions but also kidney, bladder, testicular and penile cancer sessions, which provided new interesting data.

Molecular markers, genomic profiling and individualized risk and treatment assessments were presented and discussed in poster session 58, and summarized by Stacy Loeb (@LoebStacy). Further advances in prostate cancer biomarkers in prostate cancer were presented in poster session 84. These new tools are moving from bench to bedside and urologists can hopefully incorporate these new tools to cancer care sooner rather than later.

In sessions on prostate cancer diagnostics, more advanced risk profiling tools were highlighted. For instance, STHLM3 test combines history of the patient, clinical parameters, biochemical markers and genetic markers. It was presented earlier in the congress and on Day 3 further health, economic and clinical evaluations were presented in Thematic session 12. It is one example of the tests showing promising results to potentially decrease the number of prostate biopsies needed. Other similar risk profiling tools were also presented during the congress. In addition to PSA only, evaluation of the smart use of already available clinical and biochemical parameters and the combination of genetic markers may bring individualized risk assessment of prostate cancer to the next level.

In poster session 62 on Day 3, diagnostic proceedings in prostate cancer with co-morbidity evaluation, biopsy strategies and MRI imaging were presented.  A combination of molecular markers and imaging may be the way to proceed in future. These aspects were covered nicely in Thematic session 12.

MRIs have been heavily integrated in prostate cancer diagnostics during recent years. Image guidance in prostate biopsies seem to be making a breakthrough in prostate cancer diagnostics. Targeted biopsies with cognitive or MRI-TRUS fusion imaging were shown to be the way to enhance the results and reliability of biopsies and cut down the number of biopsies. However, as biopsies are still needed in prostate cancer diagnostics, use of the pre-biopsy MRI protocols were suggested to be done only in clinical trial setting. Many aspects of MRI diagnostics of prostate cancer were elegantly summarized in Thematic session 11.

New sophisticated imaging technologies in addition to MRI were present in several sessions during the meeting. Diagnostic enhancement has been seen also in metastatic prostate cancer. PSMA-PET seems to be replacing choline-PET-TT in evaluation of relapsing and metastatic prostate cancer (e.g. Thematic session 10). More reliable diagnostics and imaging of prostate cancer are also enhancing the treatment decision and treatment choice of patients with local prostate cancer. Finding the right patients for the active surveillance protocols is also being helped with advanced diagnostics. Indeed, finding only patients who need treatment for prostate cancer should be the ultimate goal for enhanced diagnostics as discussed in poster sessions 66 and 75 on Day 3. There are also high expectations on focal therapy (e.g. poster session 66), which at the moment is still experimental but will likely be a real option for patients with low volume prostate cancer verified by imaging.

The role of quality of life evaluations and patient reported outcomes measured were heavily discussed during the congress in all treatment modalities of both local and advanced prostate cancer. Survivorship issues are an increasingly important issue when more effective treatments both in local and advanced prostate cancer are available.

In metastatic disease, the use of early chemotherapy in combination with hormonal treatment has been implemented very rapidly to clinical use after the results of the CHAARTED and STAMPEED studies. Further evaluation of early chemo in metastatic disease is still needed and the patient selection needs still clarification. Hormonal therapy still has a very marked role in metastatic prostate cancer and new advances can also be found in new strategies of using castration therapy as presented in poster session 67. Urologists should actively follow the changing landscape of the medical treatment of metastatic prostate cancer and be active in treatment planning and treatment of these patients. At the same time with poster session 62 novel drugs and new forms of isotope radiation therapy in castration resistant prostate cancer were discussed in poster session 61. These open new possibilities for potential treatments.

The clinical and scientific content of the program of the Day 3 was of a very high standard, and reflective of the breadth of contemporary research in many areas within urology. Besides this session, it was our pleasure to meet old and new urological friends worldwide. The annual EAU meeting remains a highly effective method of knowledge translation and provides the opportunity for collaboration between surgeon scientists and other researchers in the field. As always in big congresses, there are so many interesting sessions going on at the same time, that it is hard to pick up and follow everything you would like to. We hope that this report provides some memories and take home messages of the Day 3 to the readers of the BJUI and BJUI blogs.

We look forward to future BJUI and EAU happenings!

 

Kari Tikkinen

Urology resident, adjunct professor of clinical epidemiology

Helsinki University Hospital, Helsinki, Finland

@KariTikkinen

 

Mika Matikainen

Chief of urology, adjunct professor of urology

Helsinki University Hospital, Helsinki, Finland

 

 

Article of the Week: Comparison of the efficacy and safety of tolterodine 2 mg and 4 mg combined with an alpha-blocker

Every Week the Editor-in-Chief selects an Article of the Week from the current issue of BJUI. The abstract is reproduced below and you can click on the button to read the full article, which is freely available to all readers for at least 30 days from the time of this post.

In addition to the article itself, there is an accompanying editorial written by a prominent member of the urological community. This blog is intended to provoke comment and discussion and we invite you to use the comment tools at the bottom of each post to join the conversation.

Finally, the third post under the Article of the Week heading on the homepage will consist of additional material or media. This week we feature a video from Dr. Tae Heon Kimdiscussing his paper. 

If you only have time to read one article this week, it should be this one.

Comparison of the efficacy and safety of tolterodine 2 mg and 4 mg combined with an alpha-blocker in men with lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) and overactive bladder: a randomized controlled trial

Tae Heon Kim*, Wonho Jung†, Yoon Seok Suh*, Soonhyun Yook‡, Hyun Hwan Sung* and Kyu-Sung Lee*‡
*Department of Urology, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, †Department of Urology, Dongsan Medical Center, Keimyung University School of Medicine, Daegu, and ‡Department of Medical Device Management and Research, SAIHST, Sungkyunkwan University, Seoul, Korea Tae Heon Kim and Wonho Jung contributed equally to this work.

 

Read the full article
Objective
To evaluate the efficacy and safety of low-dose (2 mg) tolterodine extended release (ER) with an a-blocker compared with standard-dose (4 mg) tolterodine ER with an α-blocker for the treatment of men with residual storage symptoms after α-blocker monotherapy.
Patients and Methods
The study was a 12-week, single-blind, randomized, parallel group, non-inferiority trial that included men with residual storage symptoms despite receiving at least 4 weeks of α-blocker
treatment. Inclusion criteria were total International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS) ≥12, IPSS quality-of-life item score ≥3, and ≥8 micturitions and ≥2 urgency episodes per 24 h. The primary outcome was change in the total IPSS score from baseline. Bladder diary variables, patient-reported
outcomes and safety were also assessed.
feb-2-aotw-f1
Results
Patients were randomly assigned to addition of either 2 mg tolterodine ER (n = 47) or 4 mg tolterodine ER (n = 48) to α-blocker therapy for 12 weeks. Patients in both treatment groups had a significant improvement in total IPSS score (5.5 and 6.3, respectively), micturition per 24 h (1.3 and
1.7, respectively) and nocturia per night (0.4 and 0.4, respectively). Changes in IPSS, bladder diary variables, and patient-reported outcomes were not significantly different between the treatment groups. All interventions were well tolerated by patients.
Conclusions
These results suggest that 12 weeks of low-dose tolterodine ER add-on therapy is similar to standard-dose tolterodine ER add-on therapy in terms of efficacy and safety for patients experiencing residual storage symptoms after receiving α-blocker monotherapy.

 

Read more articles of the week

 

Editorial: Should we start with low-dose anti-cholinergics when alpha-blockers alone fail?

Kim et al. [1] asked the question whether we should start by treating men who have persistent storage LUTS despite α-blocker monotherapy, with a low-dose anti-cholinergic as opposed to the standard dose (given the potentially increased risk of side-effects such as acute urinary retention and high discontinuation rates with the standard dose). It is a valid question, for we know that discontinuation rates with standard doses of anti-cholinergics can be as high as 50% in the first 3 months due to a combination of ineffectiveness and side-effects [2]. However, the problem lies in the multifactorial nature of the causes of storage vs voiding LUTS, and the difficulty in assessing and distinguishing them accurately with our current tools.

The authors have conducted a randomised controlled trial of 2 mg vs 4 mg tolterodine added to the participants’ on-going α-blocker regime and selected reduction in total IPSS as their primary outcome measure. They have also assessed IPSS sub-scores, 3-day bladder diary variables, and the Patient Perception of Bladder Condition (PPBC) and Overactive Bladder (OAB-q) questionnaires, as secondary outcomes. As would be expected of a peer-reviewed publication the trial has been seemingly well conducted and fairly well reported. Recruitment met the requirement set by the power calculation based on a clinically significant difference of a 4-point drop in total IPSS, and the authors concluded that 2 mg tolterodine is not inferior to the 4 mg dose in achieving a significant reduction in total IPSS at 12 weeks. They also report no difference in patient perception of treatment benefit or satisfaction at this time point.

These results are interesting, especially considering some of the details of the study. First of all, patients were not on the same α-blocker at baseline; the most common was tamsulosin (62.8%), but alfuzosin, doxazosin, and others were also being used. This in itself may not be a problem because all patients continued on the same α-blocker through the study, and in fact this better represents real-world practice. However, the mean (sd) duration of α-blocker therapy at baseline was 9.1 (19.9) months. We know that α-blocker therapy can improve IPSS by up to 30–40% [3], but the pertinent question for this study is whether these patients had achieved this level of improvement initially then stabilised and improved no further, or whether they had no improvement at all? It could conceivably make a difference to participants approach to the IPSS if they were previously familiar with it and, more importantly, aware of their results. The Hawthorne effect, also known as the observer effect, and the related Heisenberg uncertainty principle, are factors that we must necessarily encounter in clinical trials but we sometimes fail to account for.

Another aspect of the study that warrants consideration is the choice of primary outcome itself. This is a particular bug-bear of mine and indeed has been commented on by many authors including in the European Association of Urology (EAU) guideline on urinary incontinence in relation to anti-muscarinics [4]. Outcomes that lend themselves to easier power calculations and statistically significant results have almost evolved to be ‘un’-naturally selected for the purpose of clinical trial primary outcome measures. Drug trials are especially notorious for this. Here again, the choice of the total IPSS to assess whether an anti-muscarinic will help improve persistent storage LUTS is a case in point. Not least because it renders the significance of all the secondary outcomes dependant on the same power calculation. It is no doubt convenient, but is it appropriate? It is easy to point the finger at trialists for this, but the business-like, ‘bottom-line’ nature of medical publishing and research today is equally, if not more, to blame.

Finally, I would like to call the reader’s attention to the difference in baseline urgency and urgency urinary incontinence (UUI) episodes. The author’s state there was no statistically significant difference, but one might argue that when assessing improvement in storage LUTS, a group with a mean (sd) baseline number of UUI episodes of 3.9 (8.6) may perceive improvement quite differently compared with a group with a baseline of 1.6 (1.1). This has borne out in the difference in the bladder diary outcome of UUI/24 h; significant improvement in the first group (who were wetter at baseline and got 4 mg tolterodine) but no difference in the latter group (comparatively drier and got 2 mg tolterodine). But almost paradoxically this does not seem to have made a difference to the patient-reported outcome measures. One possible explanation for this could be the relatively few patients who were incontinent at baseline.Overall this paper gives us a lot of food for thought. The direct result – should we indeed start men with persistent storage LUTS on low-dose anti-cholinergics rather than standard dose, and then titrate upwards? But it also challenges us to consider whether we simply accept researcher’s and sponsor’s decisions on outcome measures. What do you think? Do we simply sit back and accept what is put before us because statistics scares us a little? Or, as researchers and consumers of medical literature, do we struggle to make the hard choices, risk our results being rejected by the top journals, and stand up for good science?

Conflicts of Interest

The author has received a travel grant to attend an international conference from Ferring pharmaceuticals.

 

Read the full article
Arjun K. Nambiar
Clinical Research Registrar
Department of Urology, Morriston Hospital, Abertawe Bro Morgannwg (ABM) University Local Health Board, Swansea, SA6 6NL, UK

 

References

 

1 Kim TH, Jung W, Suh YS, Yook S, Sung HH, Lee KS. Comparison of the efficacy and safety of tolterodine 2 mg and 4 mg combined with an a-blocker in men with lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) and overactive bladder: a randomized controlled trial. BJU Int 2015; 117:  307–15
2 Lucas MG, Bedretdinova D, Berghmanset LC et al. Guidelines on Urinary Incontinence, Section 4.2.4. In: EAU Guidelines, edition presented at the 30th EAU Annual Congress, Madrid 2015. ISBN 978-90-79754-80-9. Available at: https://uroweb.org/wp-content/uploads/17-Urinary-Incontinence_LR.pdf. Accessed September 2015
3 Gravas S, Bach T, Bachmann A et al. Guidelines on Non-Neurogenic Male LUTS Including Benign Prostatic Obstruction, Section 3C.2. In: EAU Guidelines, edition presented at the 30th EAU Annual Congress, Madrid 2015. ISBN 978-90-79754-80-9. Available at: https://uroweb.org/wp-content/uploads/11-Male-LUTS_LR.pdf. Accessed September 2015
4 Lucas MG, Bedretdinova D, Berghmanset LC et al. Guidelines on Urinary Incontinence, Section 4.2.1. In: EAU Guidelines, edition presented at the 30th EAU Annual Congress, Madrid 2015. ISBN 978-90-79754-80-9. Available at: https://uroweb.org/wp-content/uploads/17- Urinary-Incontinence_LR.pdf. Accessed September 2015

 

Video: Tolterodine combined with an alpha-blocker in men with LUTS and OAB

Comparison of the efficacy and safety of tolterodine 2 mg and 4 mg combined with an α-blocker in men with lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) and overactive bladder: a randomized controlled trial

Tae Heon Kim*, Wonho Jung†, Yoon Seok Suh*, Soonhyun Yook‡, Hyun Hwan Sung*
and Kyu-Sung Lee*‡
*Department of Urology, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, †Department of Urology, Dongsan Medical Center, Keimyung University School of Medicine, Daegu, and ‡Department of Medical Device Management and Research, SAIHST, Sungkyunkwan University, Seoul, Korea Tae Heon Kim and Wonho Jung contributed equally to this work.

 

Read the full article
Objective
To evaluate the efficacy and safety of low-dose (2 mg) tolterodine extended release (ER) with an a-blocker compared with standard-dose (4 mg) tolterodine ER with an α-blocker for the treatment of men with residual storage symptoms after α-blocker monotherapy.
Patients and Methods
The study was a 12-week, single-blind, randomized, parallel group, non-inferiority trial that included men with residual storage symptoms despite receiving at least 4 weeks of α-blocker
treatment. Inclusion criteria were total International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS) ≥12, IPSS quality-of-life item score ≥3, and ≥8 micturitions and ≥2 urgency episodes per 24 h. The primary outcome was change in the total IPSS score from baseline. Bladder diary variables, patient-reported
outcomes and safety were also assessed.
Results
Patients were randomly assigned to addition of either 2 mg tolterodine ER (n = 47) or 4 mg tolterodine ER (n = 48) to α-blocker therapy for 12 weeks. Patients in both treatment groups had a significant improvement in total IPSS score (5.5 and 6.3, respectively), micturition per 24 h (1.3 and
1.7, respectively) and nocturia per night (0.4 and 0.4, respectively). Changes in IPSS, bladder diary variables, and patient-reported outcomes were not significantly different between the treatment groups. All interventions were well tolerated by patients.
Conclusions
These results suggest that 12 weeks of low-dose tolterodine ER add-on therapy is similar to standard-dose tolterodine ER add-on therapy in terms of efficacy and safety for patients experiencing residual storage symptoms after receiving α-blocker monotherapy.

 

Read more articles of the week

Article of the Week: Increase of Framingham CVD risk score is associated with severity of LUTS

Every Week the Editor-in-Chief selects an Article of the Week from the current issue of BJUI. The abstract is reproduced below and you can click on the button to read the full article, which is freely available to all readers for at least 30 days from the time of this post.

In addition to the article itself, there is an accompanying editorial written by a prominent member of the urological community. This blog is intended to provoke comment and discussion and we invite you to use the comment tools at the bottom of each post to join the conversation.

Finally, the third post under the Article of the Week heading on the homepage will consist of additional material or media. This week we feature a video from Dr. Giorgio Russo, discussing his paper. 

If you only have time to read one article this week, it should be this one.

Increase of Framingham cardiovascular disease risk score is associated with severity of lower urinary tract symptoms

Giorgio I. Russo, Tommaso Castelli, Salvatore Privitera, Eugenia Fragala, Vincenzo Favilla, Giulio Reale, Daniele Urzı, Sandro La Vignera*, Rosita A. Condorelli*, Aldo E. Calogero*, Sebastiano Cimino and Giuseppe Morgia

 

Department of Urology, and *Department of Medical and Paediatric Sciences, Section of Endocrinology, Andrology and Internal Medicine, University of Catania, Catania, Italy

 

Read the full article
OBJECTIVE

To determine the relationship between lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS)/benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and 10-year risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) assessed by the Framingham CVD risk score in a cohort of patients without previous episodes of stroke and/or acute myocardial infarction.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

From September 2010 to September 2014, 336 consecutive patients with BPH-related LUTS were prospectively enrolled. The general 10-year Framingham CVD risk score, expressed as percentage and assessing the risk of atherosclerotic CVD events, was calculated for each patient. Individuals with low risk had ≤10% CVD risk at 10 years, with intermediate risk 10–20% and with high risk ≥20%. Logistic regression analyses were used to identify variables for predicting a Framingham CVD risk score of ≥10% and moderate–severe LUTS (International Prostate Symptom Score [IPSS] ≥8), adjusted for confounding factors.

RESULTS

As category of Framingham CVD risk score increased, we observed higher IPSS (18.0 vs 18.50 vs 19.0; P < 0.05), high IPSS–voiding (6.0 vs 9.0 vs 9.5; P < 0.05) and worse sexual function. Prostate volume significantly increased in those with intermediate- vs low-risk scores (54.5 vs 44.1 mL; P < 0.05). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that intermediate- [odds ratio (OR) 8.65; P < 0.01) and high-risk scores (OR 1.79; P < 0.05) were independently associated with moderate–severe LUTS. At age-adjusted logistic regression analysis, moderate–severe LUTS was independently associated with Framingham CVD risk score of ≥10% (OR 5.91; P < 0.05).

  • cardiovascular disease
CONCLUSION

Our cross-sectional study in a cohort of patients with LUTS–BPH showed an increase of more than five-fold of having a Framingham CVD risk score of ≥10% in men with moderate–severe LUTS.

Read more articles of the week

Editorial: LUTS – an independent risk factor for CVD

Russo et al. [1] have identified LUTS as an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD). The more severe the LUTS the more the CVD risk increased. LUTS in men is caused by a group of disorders, e.g. the metabolic syndrome and central obesity, which have similar risk factors to those that cause CVD [2]. Furthermore, LUTS is associated with erectile dysfunction (ED), which is well established as being linked to silent or symptomatic CVD [3]. The question arises as to whether the age of the patient rather than the LUTS is the cause for the CVD, in other words, is the LUTS merely a bystander or coincidental problem?

The evidence, however, is accumulating that LUTS is independent of age and a risk factor for CVD [2]. A multi-disciplinary consensus looked at ED and LUTS emphasising the importance of co-diagnosis with awareness of cardiovascular risk factors being present in patients with LUTS, ED, or LUTS and ED, and reviewed the literature on the underlying pathophysiology [2].

The link between ED and LUTS was brought home by the Multinational Survey of the Aging Male (MSAM) study. Many large epidemiological studies using well-powered multivariate analyses consistently provide overwhelming evidence of a link between ED and LUTS [4].

The pathogenic mechanisms underlying the relationships between ED and LUTS have been the subject of several recent reviews [5]. The underlying mechanisms include: the alteration of the nitric oxide-cyclic guanosine monophosphate pathway, enhancement of Rho-kinase (ROCK) signalling, autonomic hyperactivity, and pelvic atherosclerosis, secondary to endothelial dysfunction [6]. Additional contributing factors may include chronic inflammation and sex steroid ratio imbalance, all of which contribute to increased CVD risk.

LUTS, with or without ED, should trigger a search for cardiovascular risk factors and metabolic problems. In 2008, the International Journal of Impotence Research published a symposium entitled ‘Cardiac Sexology: Can we save a patient’s life and his love life?’. The recognition that urologists have an important role in the early identification of cardiovascular risk should encourage urologists to work closely with cardiologists [3].

Certainly the degree of risk recorded by Russo et al. [1] is substantially greater than one would expect from age alone. Possible mechanisms include the co-existence of inflammatory activity manifest by a raised C-reactive protein (CRP), which is commonly found in association with more severe LUTS and in turn, increased CVD risk [7]. Similarly chronic sleep disturbance, especially nocturia, is common in both LUTS and CVD, as is depression [2].

Endothelial dysfunction, which is recognised to be the major vascular risk for CVD, also occurs in LUTS that is chronic or severe usually affecting the prostate gland or bladder. There are, therefore, strong links between LUTS, ED and CVD a common denominator being increased adrenergic tone. Patients with LUTS should be asked about alternative symptoms, including ED, and screened for cardiovascular risk even if they have no cardiac symptoms. LUTS may not be as strong a risk factor as ED for CVD, but it appears to be an independent marker for increased risk, which should not be ignored. Men are reluctant to volunteer their concerns, so it is important that healthcare professionals ask the appropriate questions.

Read the full article
Graham Jackson, Mike G. Kirby* and Ray Rosen

 

St. Thomas Hospital, London, UK, *The Prostate Centre, London, UK and New England Research Institutes, Inc. (NERI), Waterto wn, MA, USA

 

References

 

 

Video: The severity of LUTS is associated with an increase of Framingham CVD risk score

Increase of Framingham cardiovascular disease risk score is associated with severity of lower urinary tract symptoms

Giorgio I. Russo, Tommaso Castelli, Salvatore Privitera, Eugenia Fragala, Vincenzo Favilla, Giulio Reale, Daniele Urzı, Sandro La Vignera*, Rosita A. Condorelli*, Aldo E. Calogero*, Sebastiano Cimino and Giuseppe Morgia

 

Department of Urology, and *Department of Medical and Paediatric Sciences, Section of Endocrinology, Andrology and Internal Medicine, University of Catania, Catania, Italy

 

Read the full article
OBJECTIVE

To determine the relationship between lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS)/benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and 10-year risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) assessed by the Framingham CVD risk score in a cohort of patients without previous episodes of stroke and/or acute myocardial infarction.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

From September 2010 to September 2014, 336 consecutive patients with BPH-related LUTS were prospectively enrolled. The general 10-year Framingham CVD risk score, expressed as percentage and assessing the risk of atherosclerotic CVD events, was calculated for each patient. Individuals with low risk had ≤10% CVD risk at 10 years, with intermediate risk 10–20% and with high risk ≥20%. Logistic regression analyses were used to identify variables for predicting a Framingham CVD risk score of ≥10% and moderate–severe LUTS (International Prostate Symptom Score [IPSS] ≥8), adjusted for confounding factors.

RESULTS

As category of Framingham CVD risk score increased, we observed higher IPSS (18.0 vs 18.50 vs 19.0; P < 0.05), high IPSS–voiding (6.0 vs 9.0 vs 9.5; P < 0.05) and worse sexual function. Prostate volume significantly increased in those with intermediate- vs low-risk scores (54.5 vs 44.1 mL; P < 0.05). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that intermediate- [odds ratio (OR) 8.65; P < 0.01) and high-risk scores (OR 1.79; P < 0.05) were independently associated with moderate–severe LUTS. At age-adjusted logistic regression analysis, moderate–severe LUTS was independently associated with Framingham CVD risk score of ≥10% (OR 5.91; P < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

Our cross-sectional study in a cohort of patients with LUTS–BPH showed an increase of more than five-fold of having a Framingham CVD risk score of ≥10% in men with moderate–severe LUTS.

Read more articles of the week

The Urological Ten Commandments

Capture“It is my ambition to say in ten sentences what others say in a whole book.” – Friedrich Nietzsche

The EAU guidelines on lower urinary tract symptoms have been published recently.  These contain 36,000 words.  It was pointed out to me that the American declaration of independence contained 1300 words and The Ten Commandments just 179 words.

The challenge was therefore to write ten commandments for urology in 179 words.  The rules I set were that I should write them whilst keeping  the spirit of the structure of the decalogue as closely as possible.  (It may be worth rereading the original before reading on).  So here goes.

1) I am a logical specialty. Thou shall investigate thoroughly prior to undertaking intervention for I am a specialty that avoids surprises.
2) Though interested in the whole of medicine thou will perform no other procedures other than urological.
3) Thou shalt not base intervention on old imaging for the clinical situation could have changed.
4) Remember that 80% of diagnoses can be made with history alone.  Thou shalt listen carefully to your patient to this end.
5) Honour sound surgical principles.  Urological tissue is forgiving but anastamoses under tension will not heal.
6) Thou shall not ignore haematuria.
7) Thou shall not leave a stent and forget it has been placed.
8) Thou shall not adopt new technology without proper clinical evaluation unless it is part of a trial.
9) Thou shall not fail to see the images yourself in assessing the patient before you.
10) Thou shall not fail to assess the potential for harm before embarking on a surgical procedure. If you would not do it to your family, your neighbour or friends, you will not do it to the patient who is in your clinic.

I put these out for discussion.  Other offerings please.

 

Jonathan M. Glass @jonathanmglass1

The Urology Centre, Guy’s Hospital, London, UK.   

[email protected]

 

Article of the Week: Central obesity is predictive of persistent storage LUTS after surgery for BPE

Every Week the Editor-in-Chief selects an Article of the Week from the current issue of BJUI. The abstract is reproduced below and you can click on the button to read the full article, which is freely available to all readers for at least 30 days from the time of this post.

In addition to the article itself, there is an accompanying editorial written by a prominent member of the urological community. This blog is intended to provoke comment and discussion and we invite you to use the comment tools at the bottom of each post to join the conversation.

Finally, the third post under the Article of the Week heading on the homepage will consist of additional material or media. This week we feature a video from Dr. Mauro Gacci discussing his paper. 

If you only have time to read one article this week, it should be this one.

Central obesity is predictive of persistent storage LUTS after surgery for Benign Prostatic Enlargement: results of a multicenter prospective study

Mauro Gacci, Arcangelo Sebastianelli, Matteo Salvi, Cosimo De Nunzio*, Andrea
Tubaro*, Linda Vignozzi, Giovanni Corona, Kevin T. McVary§, Steven A. Kaplan¶, Mario Maggi, Marco Carini and Sergio Serni

 

Department of Urology, Careggi Hospital, University of Florence, Florence, *Department of Urology, SantAndrea Hospital, University La Sapienza, Rome, Department of Clinical Physiopathology, University of Florence, Florence Endocrinology Unit, Medical Department, Maggiore-Bellaria Hospital, Bologna, Italy, §Department of Urology, Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, Springeld, IL , and Department of Urology, Weill Cornell Medical College, Cornell University, New York, NY, USA

 

Read the full article
OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the impact of components of metabolic syndrome (MetS) on urinary outcomes after surgery for severe lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) due to benign prostatic enlargement (BPE), as central obesity can be associated with the development of BPE and with the worsening of LUTS.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

A multicentre prospective study was conducted including 378 consecutive men surgically treated for large BPE with simple open prostatectomy (OP) or transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP), between January 2012 and October 2013. LUTS were measured by the International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS), immediately before surgery and at 6–12 months postoperatively. MetS was defined according the USA National Cholesterol Education Program-Adult Treatment Panel III.

RESULTS

The improvement of total and storage IPSS postoperatively was related to diastolic blood pressure and waist circumference (WC). A WC of >102 cm was associated with a higher risk of an incomplete recovery of both total IPSS (odds ratio [OR] 0.343, P = 0.001) and storage IPSS (OR 0.208, P < 0.001), as compared with a WC of <102 cm. The main limitations were: (i) population selected from a tertiary centre, (ii) Use exclusively of IPSS questionnaire, and (iii) No inclusion of further data.

CONCLUSIONS

Increased WC is associated with persistent postoperative urinary symptoms after surgical treatment of BPE. Obese men have a higher risk of persistent storage LUTS after TURP or OP.

 

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