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Evaluate urinary stone components' epidemiological features in urolithiasis individuals and explore potential correlations between stone components and patients' clinical characteristics. A retrospective analysis of urinary stone compositions in 496 patients from a northern Taiwan medical center (February 2006 to October 2021) was conducted. We investigated associations between sex, age, body mass index (BMI), hypertension, diabetes mellitus (DM), hyperlipidemia (HLP), gout, coronary artery disease (CAD), cerebral vascular accident (CVA), chronic kidney disease (CKD), habits, urine pH, and three main stone groups: calcium oxalate (CaOx), calcium phosphate (CaP), and uric acid (UA). Males accounted for 66.5% of cases, with a male-to-female ratio of 1.99:1. Males were negatively associated with CaP stones (OR 0.313, p < 0.001) and positively with UA stones (OR 2.456, p = 0.009). Age showed a negative correlation with CaOx stones (OR 0.987, p = 0.040) and a positive correlation with UA stones (OR 1.023, p < 0.001). DM had a protective effect against CaP stones (OR 0.316, p = 0.004). Gout had a positive association with UA stones (OR 2.085, p = 0.035). Smoking was adversely associated with UA stones (OR 0.350, p = 0.018). Higher urine pH was a risk factor for CaP stones (OR 1.641, p = 0.001) and a protective factor against UA stones (OR 0.296, p < 0.001). These results may provide insights into the pathogenesis of urinary stones and the development of preventative strategies for high-risk populations. Further research is required to confirm and expand upon these findings.

To predict natural ureter lengths based on clinical images. We reviewed our image database of patients who underwent multiphasic computed tomography urography from January 2019 to April 2020. Natural ureteral length (UL CTU ) was measured using a three-dimensional curved multiplanar reformation technique. Patient parameters including age, height, and height of the lumbar spine, the index of ureteral length using kidney/ureter/bladder (KUB) radiographs (C-P and C-PS) and computed tomography (UL CT ) were collected. UL CTU correlated most strongly with UL CT . R square and adjusted R square values from multivariate regression were 0.686 and 0.678 (left side) and 0.516 and 0.503 (right side), respectively. UL CTU could be estimated by the regression model in three different scenarios as follows: UL CT  + C-P UL CTUL  = 0.405 × UL CTL + 0.626 × C-P L – 0.508 cm UL CTUR  = 0.558 × UL CTR + 0.218 × C-P R  + 6.533 cm UL CT UL CTUL  = 0.876 × UL CTL + 6.337 cm UL CTUR  = 0.710 × UL CTR + 9.625 cm C-P UL CTUL  = 0.678 × C-P L + 4.836 cm UL CTUR  = 0.495 × C-P R + 10.353 cm We provide equations to predict UL CTU based on CT, KUB or CT plus KUB for different clinical scenarios. The formula based on CT plus KUB provided the most accurate estimation, while the others had lower validation values but could still meet clinical needs.

In the current study, we report a 69-year-old female patient who was initially diagnosed with xanthogranulomatous pyelonephritis (XGPN) with nephrolithiasis and a peri-renal abscess. She presented to our department with right flank pain. Physical examination revealed right costovertebral angle knocking pain and computed tomography revealed dilated calyces and one staghorn stone over right kidney, with multiple abscess accumulations over the right peri-renal region. Right radical nephrectomy was performed using a transperitoneal flank approach, and pathology revealed squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) with concurrent XGPN. The patient was alive at 4 months post-operative follow-up. To the best of our knowledge, this is only the fifth case of renal SCC with concurrent XGPN reported in the English medical literature. Renal SCC with coexisting XGPN is an extremely rare presentation and only four cases have been previously reported in the English medical literature. A positive diagnosis for this rare combination of diseases was established, based on pathological and immunohistochemical examinations after radical nephrectomy. Poor prognosis has been reported in such cases. Malignancies should be considered in patients with a long-standing history of urolithiasis.

Background The current study aimed to compare the efficacy of transition zone PSA density (TZPSAD) with traditional PSA and PSA density (PSAD), for the diagnosis of prostate cancer (PCa) in Taiwanese males. Methods Men with PSA between 4.0 and 20.0 ng/ml who underwent a transrectal ultrasound (TRUS) guided prostate biopsy between the studied period were retrospectively identified. The demographic data, PSAD and TZPSAD were calculated in all patients. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were used to analyze the accuracy of a positive PCa diagnosis. Results The area under the ROC (AUC) was 0.615, 0.748 and 0.746 for PSA, PSAD and TZPSAD, respectively. The best cut-off of value for TZPSAD in predicting PCa in men with a PSA of 4.0–10.0 ng/ml was 0.367 ng/ml/ml with a sensitivity of 50% and a specificity of 77.5%. In men with a PSA of 10.1–20.0 ng/ml, the best cut-off value was 0.454 ng/ml, with a sensitivity of 74.8% and specificity of 70.9%. Conclusion The use of TZPSAD can improve the efficiency and specificity of PSA for the diagnosis of PCa in Taiwanese men with PSA 4.0–20.0 ng/ml. TZPSAD efficiency was similar to PSAD but TZPSAD had better cancer specificity.

Background In this study, we aimed to compare the efficacy and clinical outcomes of shock wave lithotripsy (SWL) for patients with renal stones using pure fluoroscopy (FS) or ultrasound-assisted (USa) localization with two lithotripters. Methods We retrospectively identified 425 patients with renal calculi who underwent SWL with either a LiteMed LM-9200 ELMA lithotripter (209 cases), which combined ultrasound and fluoroscopic stone targeting or a Medispec EM-1000 lithotripter machine (216 cases), which used fluoroscopy for stone localization and tracking. The patient demographic data, stone-free rates, stone disintegration rates, retreatment rates and complication rates were analyzed. Results The USa group had a significantly higher overall stone-free rate (43.6 vs. 28.2%, p < 0.001) and stone disintegration rate (85.6 vs. 64.3%, p < 0.001), as well as a significantly lower retreatment rate (14.8 vs. 35.6%, p < 0.001) and complication rate (1.9 vs. 5.5%, p = 0.031) compared with the FS group. This superiority remained significant in the stone size < 1 cm stratified group. In the stone size > 1 cm group, the stone-free rate (32.4 vs. 17.8%, p = 0.028), disintegration rate (89.2 vs. 54.8%, p = 0.031) and retreatment rate (21.6 vs. 53.4%, p < 0.001) were still significantly better in the USa group, however there was no significant difference in the complication rate. The most common complication was post-SWL-related flank pain. Conclusion SWL is a safe and non-invasive way of treating renal stones. This study compared two electromagnetic shock wave machines with different stone tracking systems. LiteMed LM-9200 ELMA lithotripter, which combined ultrasound and fluoroscopic stone targeting outperformed Medispec EM-1000 lithotripter, which used fluoroscopy for stone localization and tracking, with better stone-free rates and disintegration rates, as well as lower retreatment rates and complications with possible reduced radiation exposure.

We sought to examine the effect of tumor location on the prognosis of patients with upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC) treated with radical nephroureterectomy (RNU). This retrospective study came from the Taiwan UTUC Collaboration Group, which consisted of 2658 patients at 15 institutions in Taiwan from 1988 to 2019. Patients with kidney-sparing management, both renal pelvic and ureteral tumors, as well as patients lacking complete data were excluded; the remaining 1436 patients were divided into two groups: renal pelvic tumor (RPT) and ureteral tumor (UT), with 842 and 594 patients, respectively. RPT was associated with more aggressive pathological features, including higher pathological T stage (p < 0.001) and the presence of lymphovascular invasion (p = 0.002), whereas patients with UT often had synchronous bladder tumor (p < 0.001), and were more likely to bear multiple lesions (p = 0.001). Our multivariate analysis revealed that UT was a worse prognostic factor compared with RPT (overall survival: HR 1.408, 95% CI 1.121–1.767, p = 0.003; cancer-specific survival: HR 1.562, 95% CI 1.169–2.085, p = 0.003; disease-free survival: HR 1.363, 95% CI 1.095–1.697, p = 0.006; bladder-recurrence-free survival: HR 1.411, 95% CI 1.141–1.747, p = 0.002, respectively). Based on our findings, UT appeared to be more malignant and had a worse prognosis than RPT.

Background The urachus is the embryological remnant of the cloaca and allantois. Failure of its regression can cause diseases any time after birth. It is difficult to differentiate an abscess from urachal adenocarcinoma based on the clinical presentation and image findings. Cystitis glandularis reflects chronic irritation of the bladder urothelium, and tumor-like florid cystitis glandularis can be misdiagnosed as malignancy. We report a patient with concurrent urachal abscess and florid cystitis glandularis which increased the resemblance of malignancy. Case presentation A 57-year-old female was incidentally found to have a heterogeneous pelvic mass abutting the urinary bladder. A cystoscopy examination revealed protruding tumors located in the bladder dome. Her blood test results were all normal, and urinalysis showed microscopic hematuria. Urachal cancer was diagnosed and en bloc excision of the umbilicus, tumor, and the involved bladder dome was performed. Pathology revealed urachal abscess with concurrent cystitis glandularis within the urinary bladder. No malignancy was identified in the resected specimen. Conclusions It is challenging to distinguish urachal abscess from a malignant tumor based on the clinical presentation and imaging studies. As in our case, the coexistence of urachal abscess and tumor-like florid cystitis glandularis increased the resemblance to a malignancy. This is the first reported case of the concurrence of these two disease entities, and emphasizes that the detection of bladder tumors on cystoscopy is not sufficient to make the diagnosis of urachal cancer with bladder involvement.

Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status (ECOG-PS) is a widely used functional status measure in oncology, yet its prognostic value in upper tract urothelial carcinoma remains unclear. In this multicenter study of 2473 patients undergoing radical nephroureterectomy, ECOG-PS ≥ 2 was independently associated with worse overall survival (hazard ratio [HR] 2.53, p  < 0.001), cancer-specific survival (HR 2.02, p  < 0.001), and disease-free survival (HR 1.50, p  = 0.003) than those with ECOG-PS 0–1. They also had a higher risk of major perioperative complications (odds ratio 2.46, p  < 0.001). These findings support ECOG-PS as a valuable preoperative risk stratification tool.

Purpose To evaluate predictive factors of increasing intravesical recurrence (IVR) rate in patients with upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC) after receiving radical nephroureterectomy (RNUx) with bladder cuff excision (BCE). Materials and methods A total of 2114 patients were included from the updated data of the Taiwan UTUC Collaboration Group. It was divided into two groups: IVR-free and IVR after RNU x , with 1527 and 587 patients, respectively. To determine the factors affecting IVR, TNM stage, the usage of pre-operative ureteroscopy, and pathological outcomes were evaluated. The Kaplan–Meier estimator was used to estimate the rates of prognostic outcomes in overall survival (OS), cancer-specific survival (CSS), disease-free survival (DFS), and bladder recurrence-free survival (BRFS), and the survival curves were compared using the stratified log-rank test. Results Based on our research, ureter tumor, female, smoking history, age (< 70 years old), multifocal tumor, history of bladder cancer were determined to increase the risk of IVR after univariate analysis. The multivariable analysis revealed that female (BRFS for male: HR 0.566, 95% CI 0.469–0.681, p  < 0.001), ureter tumor (BRFS: HR 1.359, 95% CI 1.133–1.631, p  = 0.001), multifocal (BRFS: HR 1.200, 95% CI 1.001–1.439, p  = 0.049), history of bladder cancer (BRFS: HR 1.480, 95% CI 1.118–1.959, p  = 0.006) were the prognostic factors for IVR. Patients who ever received ureterorenoscopy (URS) did not increase the risk of IVR. Conclusion Patients with ureter tumor and previous bladder UC history are important factors to increase the risk of IVR after RNU x . Pre-operative URS manipulation is not associated with higher risk of IVR and diagnostic URS is feasible especially for insufficient information of image study. More frequent surveillance regimen may be needed for these patients.

Tumor multifocality and location are prognostic factors for upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC). However, confounding effects can appear when these two factors are analyzed together. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the impact of tumor distribution on the outcomes of multifocal UTUC after radical nephroureterectomy. From the 2780 UTUC patients in the Taiwan UTUC Collaboration Group, 685 UTUC cases with multifocal tumors (defined as more than one tumor lesion in unilateral upper urinary tract) were retrospectively included and divided into three groups: multiple renal pelvic tumors, multiple ureteral tumors, and synchronous renal pelvic and ureteral tumors included 164, 152, and 369 patients, respectively. We found the prevalence of carcinoma in situ was the highest in the synchronous group. In multivariate survival analyses, tumor distribution showed no difference in cancer-specific and disease-free survival, but there was a significant difference in bladder recurrence-free survival. The synchronous group had the highest bladder recurrence rate. In summary, tumor distribution did not influence the cancer-specific outcomes of multifocal UTUC, but synchronous lesions led to a higher rate of bladder recurrence than multiple renal pelvic tumors. We believe that the distribution of tumors reflects the degree of malignant involvement within the urinary tract, but has little significance for survival or disease progression.