Retrograde Intrarenal Surgery for Complex Stones in a Toddler with Congenital Renal Anomalies: Technical Details

We report herein the management of a challenging case due to anatomic and stone-related complications in a 37-month-old Caucasian toddler with megacalycosis and complex stone in the left kidney and duplicated ureter on the right side

The bladder carcinoma secondary to schistosoma mansoni infection: A case report with review of the literature

Introduction: Schistosomiasis is a rare condition in Turkey but remains second most prevelant parasitic infestation worldwide. Presentation of case: A 67-years old male patient admitted to a hospital with macroscopic hematuria. Bladder tumor was diagnosed and referred to our department for the treatment. Transurethral resection of bladder tumor was performed and pathological examination revealed high-grade papillary urothelial carcinoma and Schistosoma mansoni eggs. The patient used praziquantel 40 mg orally for the treatment of Schistosomiasis and intravesical immunotherapy was applied 6 weeks along per week. Neither recurrence of tumor nor S. mansoni eggs in the urine were detected at the 18th month. Discussion: In spite of well-known etiological relationships between Schistosoma haematobium and bladder cancer, there is very limited number of cases of bladder carcinoma secondary to S. mansoni infestation in the literature. All of the reported 5 cases were from the rural regions of Brazil. On the other hand, it was noticed that pathological examination had been reported in only one of these cases, and the diagnosis was leiomyoma. Therefore, to the best of our knowledge, there is no data in the literature regarding the clinical course of the transitional cell carcinoma secondary to S. mansoni. Conclusion: Regarding the increasing travels all around the world, clinicians should remember that Schistosoma infection is certainly a part of the differential diagnosis of bladder carcinoma, even if the patients are not from endemic regions

Clinical characteristics and therapeutic outcomes of paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria patients in Turkey: a multicenter experience

The aim of this study is to collect paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH) patient data from hematology centers all over Turkey in order to identify clinical features and management of PNH patients. Patients with PNH were evaluated by a retrospective review of medical records from 19 different institutions around Turkey. Patient demographics, medical history, laboratory findings, and PNH-specific information, including symptoms at the diagnosis, complications, erythrocyte, and granulocyte clone size, treatment, and causes of death were recorded. Sixty patients (28 males, 32 females) were identified. The median age was 33 (range; 17-77) years. Forty-six patients were diagnosed as classic PNH and 14 as secondary PNH. Fatigue and abdominal pain were the most frequent presenting symptoms. After eculizumab became available in Turkey, most of the patients (n = 31/46, 67.4%) were switched to eculizumab. Three patients with classic PNH underwent stem cell transplantation. The median survival time was 42 (range; 7-183 months) months. This study is the first and most comprehensive review of PNH cases in Turkey. It provided us useful information to find out the differences between our patients and literature, which may help us understand the disease

The Real-World Experience With Single Agent Ibrutinib in Relapsed/Refractory CLL

We evaluated the safety and efficacy of single-agent ibrutinib in 200 patients presenting with relapsed/refractory CLL in real-world settings. With an estimated median OS of 52 months, 146 patients (75%) achieved at least PR; 16 (8.7%) patients discontinued ibrutinib due to adverse events. The results indicate good safety and efficacy for single-agent ibrutinib in R/R CLL in daily practice

The Turkish perspective on apheresis activity: The Turkish apheresis registry report

Therapeutic apheresis is an extracorporeal treatment that selectively removes abnormal cells or harmful substances in the blood that are associated with or cause certain diseases. During the last decades the application of therapeutic apheresis has expanded to a broad spectrum of hematological and non-hematological diseases due to various studies on the clinical efficacy of this procedure. In this context there are more than 30 centers performing therapeutic apheresis and registered in the apheresis database in Turkey. Herein, we, The Turkish Apheresis Registry, aimed to analyze some key articles published so far from Turkey regarding the use of apheresis for various indications

European association of urology section of urolithiasis and international alliance of urolithiasis joint consensus on retrograde intrarenal surgery for the management of renal stones

Background: Retrograde intrarenal surgery (RIRS) has become the preferred treatment modality for nephrolithiasis. However, because of ongoing uncertainties regarding the optimal perioperative management, operative technique, and postoperative follow-up, as well as a lack of standardization for outcome reporting, consensus is needed to achieve more uniform clinical practice worldwide. Objective: To develop recommendations for RIRS on the basis of existing data and expert consensus. Design, setting, and participants: A protocol-driven, three-phase study was conducted by the European Association of Urology Section of Urolithiasis (EULIS) and the International Alliance of Urolithiasis (IAU). The process included: (1) a nonsystematic review of the literature to define domains for discussion; (2) a two-round modified Delphi survey involving experts in this field; and (3) an additional group meeting and third-round survey involving 64 senior representative members to formulate the final conclusions. Outcome measurements and statistical analysis: The results from each previous round were returned to the participants for re-evaluation of their decisions during the next round. The agreement threshold was set at 70%. Results and limitations: The panel included 209 participants who developed 29 consensus statements on the following topics of interest: (1) perioperative infection management; (2) perioperative antithrombotic therapy; (3) fundamentals of the operative technique; and (4) standardized outcome reporting. Although this consensus can be considered as a useful reference for more clinically oriented daily practice, we also acknowledge that a higher level of evidence from further clinical trials is needed. Conclusions: The consensus statements aim to guide and standardize clinical practice and research on RIRS and to recommend standardized outcome reporting. Patient summary: An international consensus on the best practice for minimally invasive surgery for kidney stones was organized and developed by two international societies. It is anticipated that this consensus will provide further guidance to urologists and may help to improve clinical outcomes for patients