A driving cessation program to identify and improve transport and lifestyle issues of older retired and retiring drivers

Background: This study explored the transport and lifestyle issues of older retired and retiring drivers participating in the University of Queensland Driver Retirement Initiative (UQDRIVE), a group program to promote adjustment to driving cessation for retired and retiring older drivers

Pattern of activation of pelvic floor muscles in men differs with verbal instructions

AimsTo investigate the effect of instruction on activation of pelvic floor muscles (PFM) in men as quantified by transperineal ultrasound imaging (US) and to validate these measures with invasive EMG recordings

Intelligence in youth and mental health at age 50

Background: Few cognitive epidemiology studies on mental health have focused on the links between pre-morbid intelligence and self-reports of common mental disorders, such as depression, sleep difficulties, and mental health status. The current study examines these associations in 50-year-old adults. Methods: The study uses data from the 5793 participants in the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 cohort (NLSY-79) who responded to questions on mental health at age 50 and had IQ measured with the Armed Forces Qualification Test (AFQT) when they were aged between 15 and 23 years in 1980. Mental health outcomes were: life-time diagnosis of depression; the mental component score of the 12-item short-form Health Survey (SF-12); the 7-item Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D); and a summary measure of sleep difficulty. Results and conclusion: Higher intelligence in youth is associated with a reduced risk of self-reported mental health problems at age 50, with age-at-first-interview and sex adjusted Bs as follows: CES-depression (B = − 0.16, C.I. − 0.19 to − 0.12, p < 0.001), sleep difficulties (B = − 0.11, C.I. − 0.13 to − 0.08, p < 0.001), and SF-12 mental health status (OR = 0.78, C.I. 0.72 to 0.85, p < 0.001; r = − 0.03 p = 0.075). Conversely, intelligence in youth is linked with an increased risk of receiving a diagnosis of depression by the age of 50 (OR 1.11, C.I. 1.01 to 1.22, p = 0.024; r = 0.03, p = 0.109). No sex differences were observed in the associations. Adjusting for adult SES accounted for most of the association between IQ and the mental health outcomes, except for having reported a diagnosis of depression, in which case adjusting for adult SES led to an increase in the size of the positive association (OR = 1.32, C.I. 1.16 to 1.51, p < 0.001)

A Cost-Utility Analysis of Prostate Cancer Screening in Australia

Background and Objectives: The Göteborg randomised population-based prostate cancer screening trial demonstrated that Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) based screening reduces prostate cancer deaths compared with an age matched control group. Utilising the prostate cancer detection rates from this study we have investigated the clinical and cost-effectiveness of a similar PSA-based screening strategy for an Australian population of men aged 50-69 years. Methods: A decision model that incorporated Markov processes was developed from a health system perspective.The base case scenario compared a population-based screening programme with current opportunistic screening practices. Costs, utility values, treatment patterns and background mortality rates were derived from Australian data. All costs were adjusted to reflect July 2015 Australian dollars. An alternative scenario compared systematic with opportunistic screening but with optimisation of active surveillance (AS) uptake in both groups. A discount rate of 5% for costs and benefits was utilised. Univariate and probabilistic sensitivity analyses were performed to assess the effect of variable uncertainty on model outcomes. Results: Our model very closely replicated the number of deaths from both prostate cancer and background mortality in the Göteborg study. The incremental cost per quality-adjusted life-year (QALY) for PSA screening was $AU147,528. However, for years of life gained (LYGs) PSA based screening ($AU45,890/LYG) appeared more favourable. Our alternative scenario with optimised AS improved cost-utility to $AU45,881/QALY, with screening becoming cost-effective at a 92$AU50,000/QALY. It appears more cost-effective if LYGs are used as the relevant outcome, and is more cost effective than the established Australian breast cancer screening programme on this basis. Optimised utilisation of AS increases the cost-effectiveness of prostate cancer screening dramatically

Comparison of dynamic features of pelvic floor muscle contraction between men with and without incontinence after prostatectomy and men with no history of prostate cancer

Aim: To compare features of pelvic floor muscle function between men with and without incontinence after prostatectomy and men with no history of prostate cancer. Methods: The study included men with incontinence postprostatectomy (PPI; n = 20), continent men postprostatectomy (PPC; n = 23) and a control group (CC; n = 20). Transperineal ultrasound imaging recorded motion associated with contraction of the striated urethral sphincter (SUS), puborectalis (PR) and bulbocavernosus (BC) muscles during maximal voluntary contraction (MVC), submaximal efforts, evoked coughing and bearing down. Anatomical landmark displacements were compared between groups and receiver operating characteristics were calculated to determine the threshold displacements that best differentiated PPI and PPC. Results: PPC demonstrated greater SUS, PR, and BC displacement than PPI during MVC (All: P

Robot-Assisted Laparoscopic Radical Prostatectomy: An Athermal Anterior Approach To The Seminal Vesicle Dissection

The seminal vesicles, particularly the lateral aspect and tips, are among the closest structures to the cavernous nerves and pelvic plexus. Given this proximity it is essential that the seminal vesicle dissection be performed in an athermal and atraumatic fashion during robot-assisted laparoscopic prostatectomy (RALP). Traditionally the seminal vesicle dissection during RALP is performed by dividing the vas deferens and following it proximally to locate the tip of the seminal vesicle. Here we describe a modification to the traditional anterior approach to seminal vesicle dissection. Our modification allows the dissection to be performed athermally and efficiently with use of minimal traction. The dissection proceeds medially between the two terminal vas deferens to identify the medial surface of one of the seminal vesicles. This medial surface is avascular and can be developed easily along the length of the vesicle using blunt dissection. Once its tip is identified it is elevated with the fourth arm medially between the two vas deferens. The ipsilateral vas can then be clipped and divided below the level of the elevated seminal vesicle. The vascular supply to the seminal vesicle is then simply identified entering the lateral aspect of its tip. A hemolock clip is placed directly beneath the tip of the seminal vesicle to control its vasculature. The remainder of the dissection can be performed with sharp dissection. Using this technique the seminal vesicle can be excised entirely with minimal traction and no thermal energy. By elevating the tip medially away from the location of the pelvic plexus and cavernous nerves, inadvertent damage to these neural structures is avoided when placing the hemolock clips. © 2008 Springer-Verlag London Ltd

Robot-Assisted Laparoscopic Radical Prostatectomy: Perioperative Outcomes Of 1500 Cases

Background: Robot-assisted laparoscopic radical prostatectomy (RALP) is an evolving minimally invasive treatment of for localized prostate cancer. We present our experience of 1500 consecutive cases with an analysis of perioperative outcomes. Patients and Methods: Fifteen hundred consecutive RALPs were performed by a single surgeon (VRP). Following Institutional Review Board approval, clinical coordinators performed prospective intraoperative and postoperative data collection. Functional outcomes were assessed using validated self-administered questionnaires. Results: Mean OR time from skin incision to fascial closure (the time that the surgeon was present) was 105 minutes (55-300). Mean EBL was 111cc (50-500). Ninety-seven percent of patients were discharged home on postoperative day 1. The overall complication rate was 4.3% with no mortalities. The positive margin rate (PMR) was 9.3% overall. PMR was 4% for pT2, 34% for T3 and 40% for pathologic stage T4. Conclusions: Our initial series represents one of the larges published series for perioperative outcomes of robotic assisted prostatectomy. Our data demonstrates the feasibility, safety and efficacy of the procedure. © Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. 2008

Primary Vesical Clear Cell Adenocarcinoma Arising in Endometriosis: A Rare Case of Mullerian Origin

Clear cell adenocarcinoma arising out of endometriosis of the urinary bladder is a rare entity. The published literature has a dearth of information about this entity and its histogenesis. In the present case review we present a 59-year-old patient who was treated with robotic anterior pelvic exenteration and ileal conduit. The initial biopsy of bladder tumour purported a high-grade urothelial carcinoma, however the final specimen revealed a clear cell adenocarcinoma arising in endometriosis without any urothelial cancer. Early case reports refer to these lesions as mesonephric or mesonephroid adenocarcinomas but the current WHO nomenclature classifies them under non-urothelial epithelial neoplasms as clear cell adenocarcinomas. Here, we review the literature and discuss their origins

Validity of estimation of pelvic floor muscle activity from transperineal ultrasound imaging in men

Purpos

Postprostatectomy incontinence is related to pelvic floor displacements observed with trans-perineal ultrasound imaging

To investigate the relationship between post-prostatectomy incontinence and dynamic features of activation of specific pelvic floor muscles in addition to anatomical parameters of the urethra.Forty-two men aged 66 (7) years (incontinent [N = 19] and continent [N = 23]) who had undergone prostatectomy participated. Transperineal ultrasound imaging was used to record sagittal images of pelvic structures during involuntary coughing and sustained maximal voluntary contractions. Imaging data were analyzed to calculate displacements of pelvic floor landmarks associated with activation of the puborectalis, striated urethral sphincter, and bulbocavernosus muscles. Anatomical features of functional urethral length and the resting position of the ano-rectal and urethra-vesical junctions were calculated. A principal component analysis and multiple logistic regression were used to consider which combinations of variables best distinguish between men with and without incontinence.Five principal components were identified that together explained 72.0% of the data. Two principal components that represented (i) striated urethral sphincter activation and (ii) bulbocavernosus and puborectalis muscle activation were significantly different between participants with and without incontinence. Together these components correctly identified 88.1% of incontinent men, with a specificity and sensitivity of 91.3% and 84.2%, respectively. Poor function of the bulbocavernosus and puborectalis muscles could be compensated by good striated urethral sphincter function, but the bulbocavernosus and puborectalis muscles had less potential to compensate for poor striated urethral sphincter function.Dynamic features of pelvic floor muscle activation, particularly shortening of the striated urethral sphincter during cough and voluntary contraction, are related to continence status after prostatectomy