Treachery in Poetry

In this paper an attempt has been made to study treachery in its various forms, and its portrayal in some select verses from the Ghazals of the Urdu poet Ahmed Faraz. These verses exhibit the betrayal of trust and allegiance by relatives and friends. They are chosen for discussion and analysis because they succinctly unveil the intensity and depth of human relations and the complexity of the concept of treachery. Keywords: Treachery, betrayal, treason, Ghazal, friendship, relationship, enemy, opportunis

Surgical cyst decortication in autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease

PURPOSE: To provide a summary of the relevant literature regarding the impact of surgical cyst decortication on hypertension, renal function, and pain management in patients with autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD). METHODS: Data collection was conducted via a Medline search using the subject headings autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease, surgery, decortication, and marsupialization. Additional reports were derived from references included within these articles. RESULTS: Despite a trend for improved blood pressure control after cyst decortication in some studies, this cumulative review of the literature did not provide consistent evidence supporting the role of this procedure in blood pressure management in patients with ADPKD. Surgical cyst decortication was associated with renal deterioration in a subset of patients with compromised baseline renal function but did not otherwise appear to have a significant impact on renal function in the majority of studies reviewed. Improvement in chronic pain after this procedure was ubiquitously reported across all studies examined. CONCLUSIONS: Despite a potential role in blood pressure management in the setting of ADPKD, surgical cyst decortication has not been definitively shown to alleviate hypertension in this clinical setting. Renal function does not appear to improve following this surgery. Patients with compromised baseline renal function appear to be at increased risk for further deterioration in renal function after cyst decortication, although the role of this procedure in altering the natural trajectory of renal failure in this patient subset needs further investigation. Cyst decortication is highly effective in the management of disease-related chronic pain for the majority of patients with ADPKD, providing durable pain relief in this patient population

Robot-assisted pyeloplasty: outcomes for primary and secondary repairs, a single institution experience

INTRODUCTION: Robotic Pyeloplasty (RAP) is a technique for management of uretero-pelvic junction obstruction (UPJO). PURPOSE: To report outcomes of RAP for primary and secondary (after failed primary treatment) UPJO. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Single institution data of adult RAP performed from 2007 to 2009 was collected retrospectively following approval by our IRB. Database analysis including patient age, race, pre and post-operative imaging studies and perioperative variables including operative time, blood loss, pain and complications. RESULTS: Fifty-five adult patients underwent RAP (26 left/29 right) for UPJO including 9 secondary procedures from 2007 to 2009. Average follow-up was 16 months (1-36). Mean age was 41 years (18-71) with an average BMI of 27 (17-42), 32 were female. Majority were diagnosed with preoperative diuretic renal scintigraphy with obstructed side demonstrating mean function of 41% and t1/2 of 70 minutes. Mean operative time was 194 minutes with average blood loss less than 100 mL. Mean hospital stay was 1.7 days with an average narcotic equivalent dose of 15 mg. RAP for secondary UPJO took longer with more blood loss and had a lower success rate. Failure was defined as necessitating another procedure due to persistent pain and/or obstruction on diuretic renal imaging. One patient (2%) with primary UPJO failed and 2 patients (22%) with secondary UPJO failed. One major complication occurred. CONCLUSION: RAP is a good option for the treatment of patients with UPJO. Reported series have established that endopyelotomy has inferior success as a treatment for primary UPJO which compromises the success of subsequent treatment as demonstrated in our higher failure rate with secondary UPJO repair

Contemporary trends in receipt of local therapy for men with clinically localized high-risk prostate cancer

111 Background: Level I evidence suggests local treatment results in improved survival as compared to androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) alone or watchful waiting for high risk prostate cancer (CaP), but contemporary trends in primary treatment for high risk CaP are poorly understood. Our aim is to examine local therapy utilization for patients with high risk CaP using a large national cancer registry. Methods: Using the National Cancer Database (NCDB), patients with clinically localized CaP meeting National Comprehensive Cancer Network high risk criteria were identified from 2004-2009. Men with node positive or metastatic disease were excluded. Adjusting for diagnosis year and demographic we examined the association between patient characteristics and local therapy, defined as radical prostatectomy (RP) or radiation (RT), in men with high risk CaP using logistic regression models. Results: A total of 132,369 men met inclusion criteria with 80% receiving local therapy and 12% receiving no treatment. There was a small but significant increase in local therapy utilization from 2004-2009 (79 to 81%, p70 years (OR 0.27, CI 0.23-0.30) or Charlson morbidity count > 2 (OR 0.43, CI 0.39-0.46) were less likely to receive local therapy. Further, men of African American race (OR 0.7, CI 0.67-0.74) and Medicare (OR 0.82, CI 0.77-0.87) or Medicaid (OR 0.6, 0.53-0.68) insurance were less likely to receive primary treatment than Caucasian patients or those with private insurance. Conclusions: In the NCDB, 80% of men presenting with clinically localized high risk CaP undergo local therapy as part of multimodality treatment or as monotherapy, with RP overtaking RT+ADT as the primary local treatment of choice. Furthermore, racial and insurance disparities in the receipt of primary treatment are still evident, providing targets for emerging CaP quality of care initiatives

Neoadjuvant Dose-dense Gemcitabine and Cisplatin in Muscle-Invasive Bladder Cancer: Results of a Phase 2 Trial

© 2018 European Association of Urology Background: Accelerated (also termed dose-dense, DD) chemotherapy regimens such as accelerated methotrexate, vinblastine, doxorubicin, and cisplatin have shown better efficacy and tolerability in the metastatic setting, and shortened the time to surgery in the neoadjuvant setting compared to standard-schedule regimens. We hypothesized that a DD schedule of gemcitabine and cisplatin (GC) would shorten the time to surgery and yield similar pathologic complete response rates (pT0) in patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC) compared with historical controls with standard GC. Objective: To determine the safety and efficacy of neoadjuvant DDGC in MIBC. Design, setting, and participants: Patients with cT2–4a, N0–1, M0 MIBC were eligible and received three 14-d cycles of DDGC with pegfilgrastim support followed by radical cystectomy with lymph node dissection. The primary end point was the pT0 rate. Molecular subtypes were assigned and correlated with survival. Results and limitations: Thirty-one patients were evaluable for toxicity and response, of whom 58% had baseline clinical stage \u3eT2N0M0; the median age was 69 yr. Ten patients (32%, 95% confidence interval [CI] 16–49%) achieved ypT0N0 status at cystectomy. Another four patients (13%, 95% CI 1–25%) were downstaged to non–muscle-invasive