Objective To review and evaluate the global clinical research literatures about the surgical management for prostatic abscess in the past decade, so as to provide useful information for clinical practice. Methods Based on the principles of evidence-based medicine, and the methods of bibliometrics, the PubMed database was searched from January 1st 2000 to April 10th 2011. The literatures about prostatic abscess were screened according to the predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria, the quality was assessed, the valid data were extracted and then systematical evaluation was performed after the establishment of the database with OpenOffice.org 3.8 Calc. Results a) A total of 205 articles were found initially and 81 were finally included with the total 388 cases involved (on average, 4.79 cases per paper). The patients’ ages ranged from 10 days to 83 years old. Two studies were diagnostic tests, and all the other 79 were surgical intervention studies; b) There was no controlled clinical trail. A total of 16 studies involving more than 5 cases for each and 311 cases in all which were retrospective case analyses, all the other 65 were individual case reports; c) American scholars published 13 papers (16.5%), ranked as the first. American and European scientists published 36 papers (44.44%). Chinese scholars published quite fewer studies, of which only 2 were in English; d) The incidence increased in younger patients gradually. The pathogens included fungi and bacteria. Most bacteria were gram-positive cocci (such as Staphylococci), followed by gram-negative bacillus (such as Klebsiella). There were also some minority pathogens. The pathogens were complex and quite diverse in different districts. The predisposing factors included both regional and systematic conditions, with diabetes mellitus, hepatocirrhosis, manipulations of lower urinary tract and urinary tract infections as the common; e) The diagnostic procedures included evaluation on symptoms and signs, physical examination, identification of pathogens, and medical imaging examinations (TRUS, CT, MRI). The therapeutic options included routine managements, conservative antibiotic therapies and surgical drainages. The surgical routes were transcutaneous, transperineal, transrectal, and transurethral. The fine needle aspiration, indwelling catheter drainage, or incision and drainage were performed under the guidance of TRUS, EUS or CT through transperineal or transrectal routes. The TUR, TURP or TUIP drainages were performed through transurethral route. The failed cases of fine needle aspiration were then treated by transurethral or transperineal incision and drainages, and some patients were also treated by urinary diversion; f) The best surgical method could not be concluded for lack of controlled data; and g) Few cases died from severe complications, and the outcomes of the majority cases were good. Conclusion a) The literatures about prostatic abscess are abundant but of low quality, with all retrospective studies or individual case reports, and most are published by American and European scholars; b) The prostatic abscess affects all ages but tends to increase in the young. Most pathogens are the gram-positive cocci (such as Staphylococci) ranked as the top and followed by gram-negative bacillus (such as Klebsiella), and the pathogens are obviously diverse in different districts; c) The predisposing factors are commonly seen as diabetes mellitus, hepatocirrhosis, manipulations of lower urinary tract and urinary tract infections; ......
Objective To evaluate the effectiveness and safety of traditional Chinese medicine therapies (TCMT) for prostatitis. Methods We searched Cochrane Controlled Trials Register (CCTR), China EBM/Cochrane center database (CEBM/CCD), PubMed, Chinese Biomedical Literature Database (CBM), Papers on Academic Conference of China (PACC), Chinese Dissertation Database Full-Text (CDDBFT), and Evidence-based Traditional Chinese Medicine Database (EBTCMD). All searches were updated on January 15, 2007. We also performed a manual search of the RCTs of TCMT for prostatitis among periodicals related to TCM, researched the related studies by correlative websites, such as “Baidu” and “Google”, gray literatures, and studies included in the references of eligible studies. At least two reviewers independently screened the studies for eligibility, evaluated the quality, and extracted the data from the eligible literatures, with a cross-check to confirm accuracy. Different views were settled by a third party. We evaluated the quality of eligible studies with the revised Jadad’s scale, and extracted valid data using data tables. Meta-analyses were performed for homogeneous studies using RevMan 4.3 software. If heterogeneity existed among the studies, descriptive analysis was conducted. The potential publication-bias was analyzed by funnel plot analysis. Results A total of 52 randomized clinical trials of TCMT for prostatitis (n=5 209) among 1 282 original studies were identified. The methodological quality ranked high in 9 RCTs (the revised scale were ≥ 4 scores), and 22 RCTS reported the methods of random sequence production. The analysis indicated some TCMT were more effective than the treatments in the controls in relieving the proatatitis patients’ pain or discomfort, paruria, impact of symptoms and NIH-chronic prostatitis symptom index (NIH-CPSI), improving the EPS-WBC and urine flow rate etc. Of the trials, 29 randomized clinical trials of TCMT for prostatitis that studied safety (n=2 502) were identified. The methodological quality ranked high in 8 RCTs (the revised scale were ≥ 4 scores), and 18 RCTs reported the method of random sequence production. Analysis indicated some TCMT may cause lower digestive tract symptoms when compared to the control therapies and some Chinese herbs formulas- may cause sexual disfunction. Conclusion Some TCMT may be more effective than the controls in relieving the patients’ pain or discomfort, paruria, impact of symptoms and NIH-CPSI, improving the prostatic tenderness with DRE, improving the EPS-WBC, lecithin lipophore, and urine flow rate etc. However, some TCMT of the trials included may cause lower digestive tract symptoms when compared to the controls, and some Chinese herbs formulas cause sexual disfunction. Because of the generally low methodological quality and the variations of the herbs used, the overall effects cannot be pooled for analysis. More evidence is needed to support this finding.
Objective To investigate the effect of epristeride on 5-alpha-reductase activity and androgen receptor levels in prostate tissue. Methods Forty patients with benign prostate hyperplasia were randomly divided into the trial group and the control group with 20 in each group. Patients in the trial group were administered oral epristeride and terazosin, while those in the control group were given just terazosin. All patients underwent trans-urethral resection of the prostate after two weeks, and then the 40 samples of prostate were tested immunohistochemically for 5-alpha-reductase activities and androgen receptor levels. Results The 5-alpha-reductase in prostate tissue was not stained or lightly stained in the trial group, while it was heavily stained in the control group. The androgen receptor in prostate tissue was heavily stained in both groups. Conclusion Oral epristeride can inhibit the activity of 5-alpha-redutase in prostate tissue, but it has no obvious effect on the androgen receptor level in prostate tissue.
Objective To systematically review the effectiveness and safety of radiotherapy combined with short-term or long-term hormonal therapy for prostate cancer. Methods Databases including EMbase, PubMed, Web of Science, CENTRAL and CBM were searched from inception to August 2012 to collect the randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on radiotherapy combined with short-term or long-term hormonal therapy for prostate cancer. According to the inclusion and exclusion criteria, data of the included studies were extracted, and the methodological quality was evaluated. Then meta-analysis was performed using RevMan 5.1, and the evidence qualities and recommendation levels were determined according to the GRADE System. Results A total of 6 RCTs involving 3157 patients were included. The results of meta-analysis showed that there were no significant differences in the overall survival rate (RR=0.95, 95%CI 0.91 to 1.00) and the disease-free survival rate (RR=0.73, 95%CI 0.46 to 1.13) between the radiotherapy plus short-term hormonal therapy group (the short-term group) and the radiotherapy plus long-term hormonal therapy group (the long-term group). The long-term group was superior to the short-term group in biochemical failure-free survival rate (RR=0.81, 95%CI 0.68 to 0.97), clinical progression rate (RR=1.61, 95%CI 1.44 to 1.80), and prostate cancer-specific mortality (RR=1.44, 95%CI 1.16 to 1.80). Based on the GRADE system, the evidence level of biochemical failure-free survival was moderate with a weak recommendation; the evidence level of disease-free survival was low with a weak recommendation; the evidence level of overall survival was high with a weak recommendation; and the evidence levels of clinical progression rate and prostate cancer-specific mortality were high with a b recommendation. Conclusion Currently, the limited evidence shows extending the length of hormone therapy is beneficial for patients with localized prostate cancer and locally advanced prostate cancer, especially for patients with high Gleason score, but it cannot raise overall survival rate and disease-free survival rate. This conclusion still needs to be further proved by more high-quality and large-scale RCTs.
Objective To comprehensively evaluate the association between TNF-α gene −308 G/A polymorphism and the risk of prostate cancer. Methods A meta-analysis was performed to analyze the association between −308 G/A polymorphism and the risk of prostate cancer risk. Results A total of 11 case-control studies (4 919 cases and 5 210 controls) were included in this meta-analysis. The result showed no statistically significant differences in all genotype distribution between prostate cancer cases and controls: dominant model (OR=1.11, 95%CI 0.90 to 1.36, P=0.33), recessive model (OR=0.91, 95%CI 0.70 to 1.18, P=0.47), GA versus GG (OR=1.11, 95%CI 0.90 to 1.37, P=0.33), AA versus GG (OR=0.92, 95%CI 0.71 to 1.20, P=0.55), A versus G (OR=1.07, 95%CI 0.91 to 1.26, P=0.39). In the subgroup analysis by ethnicity, no statistically differences were found between prostate cancer cases and controls. Conclusion This results of meta-analysis suggests that TNF-α gene –308G/A polymorphism may not be a risk factor of prostate cancer. Due to the limited quantity of the includied studies, further studies are needed to validate the above conclusion.
Objective To systemically evaluate the accuracy of f/t-PSA for diagnosing prostate cancer with a t-PSA level of 4-10ng/mL through meta-analysis. Methods A literature search of CBM, VIP, CNKI and Wanfang Data from 1999 to 2009 was performed. Related journals were also searched manually. Two reviewers independently assessed trial quality according to QUADAS items. Heterogenous studies and meta-analysis were conducted by Meta-Disc1.4 software. The analysis was based on different critical values of f/t-PSA (0.1, 0.15, 0.2, 0.25, and 0.3). Results Total 18 studies involving 2217 subjects were included. No threshold effect was found. But there was heterogeneity due to other factors. The meta–analysis showed that, the sensitivity of f/t-PSA with the critical value of 0.15 for the diagnosis of prostate cancer with a t-PSA level of 4-10ng/mL was 75% (95%CI 70%-79%), and the specificity was 81% (95%CI 78%-84%). The area under SROC curve was 0.883 5, and the Q index was 0.814 0. Conclusion The f/t-PSA is a better index for diagnosing prostate cancer with t-PSA levels between 4 and 10ng/mL. And it is reasonable to consider 0.15 as a more suitable critical value.
Objective Evidence-based medicine was used to make an individualized treatment plan for newly diagnosed prostatic hyperplasia in an elderly patient. Methods After clinical problems were discovered, evidence was collected from CBM, CNKI, The Cochrane Library, PubMed, EMBASE, ScienceDirect, Springer, and ProQuest databases according to our predefined search strategy. The search was done through 2008. The internal and external validity of the evidence was assessed. The evidence, combined with the patient value, was applied to the patient. Results A total of 39 systematic reviews involving 137 randomized controlled trials were identified. A rational treatment plan was made upon a critical evaluation of the data. After one year follow-up, the treatment protocol was proven correct. Conclusion The treatment efficacy in newly diagnosed prostatic hyperplasia in the elderly has been improved by determining an individualized treatment protocol according to evidence-based methods.
Prostate cancer is a common disease in the USA and Europe, with a gradually increasing incidence in China, and presents a significant health burden for older men. The lack of modifiable risk factors has made early detection as a strategy to reduce mortality. Current methods of screening involve the measurement of serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA) and digital rectal examination followed by biopsy. With PSA screening evidence of level I absent, the evidence on the use of PSA as a screening test is still highly controversial. Furthermore, there is controversy over whether screen-detected lesions will become clinically significant. There are three major treatment options for localized disease: radical prostatectomy, radical radiotherapy and monitoring with treatment if required. There is no evidence of randomized controlled trial (RCT) to suggest a survival advantage of any of these treatments. Opinions about the related benefits and risks of screening vary widely. In the absence of RCT of benefit for screening, many now suggest “informed consensus” screening, which encourages a discussion between the patient and his physician with both sides informed of all of the issues.
Objective To determine whether antibiotic prophylaxis can reduce the risk of postoperative bacteriuria in men undergoing transurethral resection of prostate (TURP) who have sterile preoperative urine. Method MEDLINE, EMBASE and Cochrane Library were searched for RCTs comparing antibiotic prophylaxis and placebo/blank controls for men undergoing TURP with preoperative sterile urine. The search strategy was established according to the Cochrane Prostatic Diseases and Urologic Cancers Group search strategy. Data was extracted by two reviewers using the designed extraction form. RevMan were used for data management and analysis. Results Fifty three relevant trials were searched, of which 27 trials were included and 26 were excluded. Antibiotic prophylaxis significantly decreased the rate of post-TURP bacteriuria.The pooled relative risk (RR) and 95% confidence interval were 0.36 (0.28, 0.46). Conclusions Prophylactic antibiotics could significantly decrease the incidence of post-TURP bacteriuria. Further comparative RCTs and cost-effective should be performed analysis to establish the optimal antibiotic regimes for the benefit of patients undergoing TURP.