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E Merlini

Publications and source records attributed to E Merlini.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2004

Obstructive ureterocele-an ongoing challenge.

Ureterocele is a cystic dilatation of the intravesical ureter that is most commonly observed in females and children, and usually affects the upper moiety of a complete pyeloureteral duplication. According to their position, ureteroceles are divided into intravesical, when the ureterocele is completely contained inside the bladder, and extravesical when part of the cyst extends to the urethra or bladder neck. Most ureteroceles are diagnosed in utero or immediately after birth during an echographic screening of renal malformations. Severe, febrile urinary tract infection is the most common postnatal presentation of ureteroceles, but they may, rarely, prolapse and acutely obstruct the bladder outlet. Once an ureterocele is identified sonographically, a voiding cystourethrogram to detect vesicoureteral reflux (VUR) and a 99m-technetium dimercapto-succinic acid renal scan to evaluate the function of the different portions of the kidney are mandatory. VUR in the lower pole is observed in 50% of cases and in the contralateral kidney in 25%. Simple endoscopic puncture of the ureterocele has recently been advocated as an emergency therapy for infected or obstructing ureteroceles and as an elective therapy for intravesical ureteroceles. The rate of additional surgery after elective endoscopic puncture of an orthotopic ureterocele ranges from 7 to 23%. Treatment of ectopic ureteroceles is more challenging and both endoscopic puncture and upper pole partial nephrectomy frequently require additional surgery at the bladder level. The reoperation rate after endoscopic treatment varies from 48 to 100%. It is 15 to 20% after upper pole partial nephrectomy if VUR was absent before the operation, but is as high as 50-100% when VUR was present. Thus, endoscopic incision is appropriate as an emergency treatment or when dealing with a completely intravesical ureterocele. Upper pole partial nephrectomy is the elective treatment for an ectopic ureterocele without preoperative VUR. In an ectopic ureterocele with VUR, no matter which type of primary therapy has been chosen, a secondary procedure at the bladder level, involving ureterocele removal and reimplantation of the ureter(s), should be anticipated.

Child↗
PubMed1998

Acute epididymitis and urinary tract anomalies in children.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the incidence of urinary tract infection (UTI) and genitourinary malformations in children presenting with acute epididymitis. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Twenty-five children between 2 months and 14 years of age presenting with acute epididymitis underwent urine culture, abdominal ultrasound, voiding cystourethrography and, in selected cases, intravenous pyelography. Eleven patients were infants and 14 were older than 1 year. UTIs and genitourinary malformations were recorded. Fisher's exact test was used to compare the incidence in two age groups. A p value of less than 0.05 was considered significant. RESULTS: Seven UTIs and eight genitourinary malformations were diagnosed in infants, while in older children three UTIs and three malformations were discovered. Infants had a higher rate of associated UTI (p 0.049) and genitourinary malformations (p 0.017) than did older children. CONCLUSIONS: Our data show a close relationship between acute epididymitis in infants for both UTIs and genitourinary malformations. Every infant presenting with epididymitis would undergo a complete evaluation including abdominal ultrasound and voiding cystourethrography. In older children the need for imaging should be dictated by clinical history and physical findings.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1997

Nocturnal enuresis and daytime wetting: a multicentric trial with oxybutynin and desmopressin.

OBJECTIVE: Different etiopathological mechanisms of enuresis are today under study, and different therapies and drugs have been proposed. The Italian Multicentric Trial was undertaken in twelve pediatric and urological centers in order to assess the efficacy of two of the most popular drugs, desmopressin (DDAVP) and oxybutynin. METHODS: 114 enuretic patients were enrolled in the study. After a 2-week observation period, 66 patients with primary monosymptomatic enuresis were treated with DDAVP, 30 micrograms/day intranasally, for 6 weeks, 48 patients with enuresis and voiding dysfunction were randomly assigned to a protocol with oxybutynin alone or oxybutynin plus DDAVP. The efficacy of the two drugs was measured in terms of reduction of wet nights per week during the 6-week treatment period and a 2-week follow-up period. Children with 0-3 dry nights/week were considered as nonresponders. RESULTS: Patients with monosymptomatic enuresis treated with DDAVP reported a significantly lower number of wet night during treatment than during the baseline period, with 79% showing a 'good' (6-7 dry nights/week) or 'intermediate' response (4-5 dry nights/week). Of the patients with diurnal voiding disturbances and enuresis, those treated with oxybutynin alone had a 54% success rate. The patients treated with both oxybutynin and DDAVP showed a better response, with a 71% rate of success. CONCLUSIONS: The efficacy of the two drugs is confirmed in patients carefully selected on the clinical basis of voiding disturbances. In patients with enuresis and voiding dysfunction, the reduced urinary output and the lower bladder filling rate due to DDAVP can reduce uninhibited bladder contractions, thus enhancing the oxybutynin action.

Administration, Intranasal↗
PubMed1993

Treatment of vesicoureteric reflux in the neurogenic bladder.

A retrospective co-operative study was conducted among 6 Italian paediatric surgical departments to assess the results of different forms of treatment of vesicoureteric reflux in patients with neurogenic bladder. Between January 1980 and December 1989 we studied 641 neurogenic bladders in children, mainly due to spina bifida; reflux was detected in 199 patients with 263 refluxing ureters. Details of treatment were available for only 170 patients and they were divided into 2 main groups: conservative medical treatment (n = 127) and primary surgical treatment (n = 43). Medical treatment consisted mainly of clean intermittent catheterisation and the administration of appropriate drugs. In the surgical group 36 reimplantations, 6 cystostomies and 1 STING were performed. Fifteen patients underwent surgery as a secondary procedure. The results showed that approximately 50% of patients with reflux were cured by clean intermittent catheterisation and drug therapy. Ureteric reimplantation can be safely performed in patients with neurogenic bladder provided that a normally compliant, non-hyper-reflexic bladder can be achieved by means of drugs or by bladder augmentation with bowel.

Child↗
PubMed1983

Trifid obstructed megaureter.

A case report of trifid obstructed megaureter in a young girl is presented. Triplication of ureters is one of the rarest malformations of the upper urinary tract and commonly presents with associated urinary tract infections. Obstructed megaureters in a triplicate system is even more uncommon, and only a few cases have been recorded in the world literature.

Female↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Primary megaureter detected during the first year of life. Review of case reports in the last 10 years and analysis of prognostic factors].

AIM: We report our experience in the treatment of primary megaureter discovered prenatally or in the first year of life. We also discuss the prognostic role of the first diuretic renogram performed immediately after the discovery of the megaureter. MATERIAL AND METHODS: 45 patients have been observed since January 1990 until December 1999, with 54 primary non refluxing megaureters (9 bilateral cases); 18 discovered prenatally; 24 detected during a postnatal echographic screening of urinary malformations; and 3 symptomatic. All the patients have been studied and followed-up with repeated sonograms and diuretic nephrograhis. RESULTS: 19 patients underwent surgery, 5 at presentation and 14 early during follow up. In this group, 7 patients were operated on because of urinary tract infection, 5 had a functional impairment of the involved kidney and 2 presented a progressive increase of ureteral size. 29 megaureters have been followed non operatively, of these, 6 resolved and 19 improved dilatation, 10 were unchanged and 3 cases underwent progressive worsening. Half time clearance (T 1/2) calculated during the first diuretic renogram had a favorable prognostic significance when the value was under 10', but when the value was above 10' the evolution was unpredictable.

Female↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Testis sparing enucleation of a Leydig-cell tumour in a boy.

Testicular tumours are very rare in paediatric age, accounting only for 1% of all paediatric tumours. Testicular tumours can originate either from germ cells (77.4%) or from stromal cells (7.1%) or from other cells. Leydig-cell tumours account for 1% of all testicular tumours and 39% of gonadal stromal tumours and in the prepubertal male are responsible for causing precocious pseudopuberty. In the past, orchiectomy has been considered the treatment of choice, but in consideration of the fact that Leydig Cell tumours in children invariably show a benign behaviour, in recent years some authors have suggested a more conservative approach. In the herein reported case, a decision was made to simply enucleate the tumour leaving the testis. After one year, imaging shows a normal testis with no sign of recurrence.

Child↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The lazy bladder syndrome: a possible urodynamic evolution in patients with idiopatic detrusor and pelvic floor overactivity.

OBJECTIVE: To correlate the urge syndrome due to bladder overactivity and the lazy bladder syndrome, demonstrating that, at least in some cases, the lazy bladder may be the final stage of the evolution of an overactive bladder when associated with overactivity of the pelvic floor during micturition. PATIENTS AND METHODS: From January 1998 to December 1999, 38 children, 30 females and 8 males, 5 to 16 yrs. old (median 7.4 yrs), presenting with urge symptoms and never treated before, have been evaluated with repeated urodynamic investigations. At presentation all the patients underwent complete baseline urodynamics including evaluation of free flow, EMG, cystometrogram, subtracted detrusor pressure and flow/pressure studies. Flow/EMG was repeated every four months during the treatment period and full urodynamic investigation every year. RESULTS: The first urodynamic study showed that 17 patients were affected by pure detrusor overactivity with good detrusor-sphincter co-ordination, while 21 presented both detrusor and pelvic floor muscles overactivity. All the patients have been treated with oxibutinin (0.3-0.5 mg/Kg. in 3 divided doses) and a timed voiding program with the help of a frequency-volume chart. At the end of the study 16 out of the 17 children with pure overactive bladder were cured (94%), while only 12 of the 21 patients with both bladder and sphincter overactivity were clinically and urodinamically normal Nine girls showed a progressive shift towards the development of a lazy bladder syndrome (capacious, hypocontractile bladder with large post-voiding residual and a non relaxing sphincter during micturition). Clinically this shift was signalled by recurrent urinary tract infections. CONCLUSIONS: The transition from an overactive bladder to a hypocontractile one has been reported previously, but it has not been extensively investigated in children and its causes are largely hypothetical. In our cases this phenomenon occurred only in girls that, initially showed both detrusor urethral sphincter overactivity, therefore we can reasonably conceive that, at least in some cases, the lazy bladder syndrome may be due to prolonged and repeated high pressure bladder contractions opposed by a non relaxing sphincter that may lead to a progressive loss of the contractile properties of detrusor muscle fibres. The rather rapid shift observed in our patients might have been favoured by the use of anticholinergic medications.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Acute epididymitis in children].

Fifteen cases of epididymitis in children are reviewed, six of these occurring in children under twelve months of age, and nine in older children. In five of the six cases occurring in infants a U.T.I. and a malformation of the urinary tract were found, while in children over one year only three infections and two urinary malformations were discovered. Authors recommend that in infants under 1 year presenting with epididymitis a thorough investigation of the urinary tract is performed.

Acute Disease↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Simple testicular cysts in children. Presentation of a case].

A case of simple intraparenchymal testicular cyst in a two and half months old child is reported. Dysplastic cysts of the testicle are exceedingly rare, in children only eight such cases have been described in the Literature, all, except one, treated by orchiectomy. In the herein reported case a conservative approach with cyst enucleation and sparing of the residual testicular parenchyma has been satisfactorily employed.

Cysts↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Scaphoid megalourethra. Description of a case and review of the literature].

Authors describe a case of scaphoid megalourethra in a newborn. The child underwent a successful urethroplasty in neonatal period, as described by Nesbitt. In a careful review of the Literature only 47 such cases were found (included the one herein described). Authors discuss etiology, diagnosis and management of this rare malformation and stress the feasibility of an early reconstructive procedure.

Humans↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Conservative treatment of esophageal perforation in the newborn infant. Description of a case].

A case of oesophageal perforation in a newborn is reported. Authors describe the different clinical pictures due to the various sites of perforation. Authors believe that conservative treatment is satisfactory when applied to most oesophageal perforations and operative approach should be employed only in selected cases and after failure of a trial of non-operative treatment.

Esophageal Perforation↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Fibrous polyp of the posterior urethra].

Authors describe a case of fibrous polyp of the posterior urethra, causing complete urinary retention in a five and a half years old boy. On the basis of their own experience and of the data of the Literature Authors discuss etiology, diagnosis and management of this rare anomaly of the urinary tract.

Child, Preschool↗