Bi-layer sandwich film for antibacterial catheters.

Approximately one quarter of all nosocomial infections can be attributed to the urinary tract. The infections are supposed to be mainly caused by implantations of urethral catheters and stents. A new catheter design is introduced with the aim to lower the high number of nosocomial urethral infections.

Efficacy of silver/hydrophilic poly(p-xylylene) on preventing bacterial growth and biofilm formation in urinary catheters.

Catheter associated urinary tract infections (CAUTI), caused by several strains of bacteria, are a common complication for catheterized patients. This may eventually lead to a blockage of the catheter due to the formation of a crystalline or amorphous biofilm. Inhibiting bacteria should result in a longer application time free of complaints.

First Clinical Experience with Extracorporeally Induced Destruction of Kidney Stones by Shock Waves.

We performed extracorporeally induced destruction of kidney stones on 72 patients. No complications have resulted from the tissue exposure to high energy shock waves. Clearance studies before and after the shock wave treatment indicate no changes in renal function.

Results of multiparametric transrectal ultrasound-based focal high-dose-rate dose escalation combined with supplementary external beam irradiation in intermediate- and high-risk localized prostate cancer patients.

Purpose: Clinical results of a biologic information-based focused dose escalation combined with dose de-escalation for the whole organ in external beam radiotherapy + high-dose-rate brachytherapy (HDR-BT) boost application for localized prostate cancer in a consecutively treated patient cohort.

Methods And Materials: One hundred thirty patients were treated with external beam radiotherapy (50 Gy) complementary to two multiparametric transrectal ultrasound-guided 15 Gy HDR-BT fractions. Real-time multiparametric transrectal ultrasound-based biologic planning for high-dose-rate boost dose planning used the summation of gray scale and Doppler sonography imaging + biopsy information.

Stone/tissue differentiation for Holmium laser lithotripsy using autofluorescence: Clinical proof of concept study.

Background And Objectives: Holmium laser lithotripsy is the gold standard for intracorporeal fragmentation of urinary calculi. Usually, a visible beam is superimposed on the IR treatment laser as an aiming beam to guide the surgeon. In vitro tests showed that this aiming beam (532 nm, power <1 mW) excites strong fluorescence on human calculi.

Silver ions eluted from partially protected silver nanoparticles.

The most prominent character of a new type of antibacterial urological catheters is the zebra-stripe pattern of a silver film, which is plated electroless on their interior wall and capped by a very thin semipermeable layer of parylene. This design effectively controls the release rate of Ag(+) ions in artificial urine, which has been measured as function of time with optical emission spectroscopy. By evaluating the minimum inhibitory concentration against certain strains of bacteria with solutions of AgNO3 of known concentration with the method of optical density and applying this analysis to the silver-eluting catheters, it was shown that this moderation prolongs the period of their application significantly.

[Focal dose escalation in the treatment of prostate cancer : Long-term results of HDR brachytherapy].

Background: We prospectively examined the effect and the safety of intensity-modulated HDR brachytherapy (IMBT) with focal dose escalation.

Materials And Methods: A total of 139 patients undergoing primary therapy for prostate cancer and 11 patients with recurrence were included. Data analysis focused on the following factors: date of primary diagnosis, Gleason score, initial prostate-specific antigen (PSA) value, PSA nadir, volume of the prostate in the transrectal ultrasound, biopsy of the prostate gland, androgen deprivation, chemotherapy, uroflowmetry, pre- and postoperative post-void residual urine (PVR), number of the needles in the prostate lobes and analysis of follow-up data.

Self-adjuvanted mRNA vaccination in advanced prostate cancer patients: a first-in-man phase I/IIa study.

Background: CV9103 is a prostate-cancer vaccine containing self-adjuvanted mRNA (RNActive®) encoding the antigens PSA, PSCA, PSMA, and STEAP1. This phase I/IIa study evaluated safety and immunogenicity of CV9103 in patients with advanced castration-resistant prostate-cancer.

Methods: 44 Patients received up to 5 intra-dermal vaccinations.

Stone/tissue differentiation during intracorporeal lithotripsy using diffuse white light reflectance spectroscopy: In vitro and clinical measurements.

Background And Objective: Holmium laser lithotripsy is the 'gold standard' for intracorporeal fragmentation of stones. However, there is a risk of damaging and perforating the ureter wall when the laser is accidentally fired while the fiber is in contact with tissue. The aim of this study was to evaluate if white illumination light, diffusely reflected back into the treatment fiber and spectrally analyzed, can be used for differentiating between stone and tissue.

[Implementation of a scale on stone baskets].

Background: Complications after endoscopic retrieval of kidney and ureter stones are obviously related to the size of the stones as well as the experience of the surgeon and other factors. During the procedure it is sometimes difficult for surgeons to estimate stone size and therefore give prognostic advises. The visual perception of the stone size depends on the shape, colour, distance to the renoscope and dilatation of the ureter.

Damage of stone baskets by endourologic lithotripters: a laboratory study of 5 lithotripters and 4 basket types.

Background. In some cases, the ureteral stone is simultaneously stabilized by a stone basket when endourologic lithotripsy is performed. This stabilization can be either on purpose or by accident.

[Accidental destruction of stone trapping baskets: new knowledge on the interaction of baskets, stone trapping devices, guide wires and lithotriptors - a brief review].

There is a rise in the incidence of stone disease in the industrial nations. Due to this, the number of endurological procedures will also rise. Sometimes endourological instruments will be fragmented accidentally together with the destruction of the stone.

Application of an interstitial and biodegradable balloon system for prostate-rectum separation during prostate cancer radiotherapy: a prospective multi-center study.

Background And Purpose: Rectal toxicity presents a significant limiting factor in prostate radiotherapy regimens. This study evaluated the safety and efficacy of an implantable and biodegradable balloon specifically designed to protect rectal tissue during radiotherapy by increasing the prostate-rectum interspace.

Patients And Methods: Balloons were transperineally implanted, under transrectal ultrasound guidance, into the prostate-rectum interspace in 27 patients with localized prostate cancer scheduled to undergo radiotherapy.

Photodynamic diagnosis of non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer with hexaminolevulinate cystoscopy: a meta-analysis of detection and recurrence based on raw data.

Background: Studies on hexaminolevulinate (HAL) cystoscopy report improved detection of bladder tumours. However, recent meta-analyses report conflicting effects on recurrence.

Objective: To assess available clinical data for blue light (BL) HAL cystoscopy on the detection of Ta/T1 and carcinoma in situ (CIS) tumours, and on tumour recurrence.

Interstitial biodegradable balloon for reduced rectal dose during prostate radiotherapy: results of a virtual planning investigation based on the pre- and post-implant imaging data of an international multicenter study.

Purpose: To evaluate dose reduction caused by the implantation of an interstitial inflatable and biodegradable balloon device aiming to achieve lower rectal doses with virtual 3D conformal external beam radiation treatment.

Materials And Methods: An inflatable balloon device was placed, interstitially and under transrectal ultrasound guidance, into the rectal-prostate interspace prior treatment initiation of 26 patients with localized prostate cancer, who elected to be treated with radiotherapy (3D CRT or IMRT). The pre- and post-implant CT imaging data of twenty two patients were collected (44 images) for the purpose of the 3D conformal virtual planning presented herein.

[The care situation of patients with interstitial cystitis in Germany: results of a survey of 270 patients].

Background: Using a comprehensive questionnaire the care situation of 270 patients with interstitial cystitis (IC) and bladder pain syndrome in Germany was recorded. Despite comprehensive literature on IC (62,000 citations in PubMed) almost nothing is known of the everyday care and quality of patient care in Germany.

Results: In total 94% of the patients were women and 6% men, the average age of women was 53.

Could titanium oxide coating from a sol-gel process make stone baskets more resistant to laser radiation at 2.1 μm?

Background: Stone baskets could be easily destroyed by Holmium:YAG-laser at an endourologic treatment, with respect to this, we try to improve the resistance by coating them with a titanium oxide layer. The layer was established by a sol-gel-process.

Materials And Methods: Six new baskets (Equadus, Opi Med, Ettlingen, Germany) were used: 1.

[Non-muscle invasive transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder. New developments in diagnostics and therapy].

Due to the high incidence and recurrence rate non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) has a relevant impact. Raman spectroscopy and optical coherence tomography represent innovative diagnostic tools. Urine markers still play a minor role in the diagnostics of NMIBC.

[Recurrent bladder cancer after BCG instillation therapy. Local therapy options?].

Patients with a so-called BCG failure (Bacillus Calmette-Guérin) constitute an inhomogeneous group of patients. Patients with BCG recurrence or BCG refractive tumors are real BCG failures. Therapeutic options are radical cystectomy and a conservative approach, depending on the individual risk of recurrence and progression.

Investigation of bladder deformability within the development process of the artificial urinary diversion system - a pilot study.

Purpose: The purpose of this pilot study was to investigate changes in the dimensions of human bladders in different body positions to determine the required deformability of an artificial urinary diversion system (AUDS). This entirely artificial organ is comparable in size to the maximum capacity of natural bladders and is a replacement for diseased bladders, such those damaged by cancer.

Methods: The full bladders (determined by the individual's perception) of 5 healthy adult volunteers were imaged using a fully opened magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) device in different body positions: standing, maximum flexion, and seated.

Laparoscopic versus open bilateral nephrectomy in transplant recipients with medication-resistant hypertension: final results of a multicenter study with 15 years of follow-up.

Background: The objective of this study was to evaluate the outcomes of laparoscopic bilateral nephrectomy (LBN) compared with open bilateral nephrectomy (OBN) in transplant recipients with medication-resistant hypertension.

Material And Methods: Between 1994 and 2009, 66 renal transplant recipients underwent LBN due to poorly controlled hypertension. We compared them with 44 previous patients who underwent OBN.