PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

R Hamid

Publications and source records attributed to R Hamid.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Long-term urological outcomes in paediatric spinal cord injury.

STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective review. OBJECTIVE: This retrospective review observes the evolution of bladder management by time and reports adult urological outcomes and complications in paediatric onset spinal cord injury (SCI). SETTING: Spinal Injuries Unit RNOH Stanmore. METHOD: In total, 10 traumatic SCI patients with mean age at injury of 13.6 years underwent treatment, for a mean period of 13.1 years. Characteristics of injury were noted. Two diagnostic subgroups, neurogenic detrusor overactivity (NDO), and acontractile detrusor were made. Complications, treatment changes, operative procedures with follow-up were noted. RESULTS: In group 1 (6/10 patients) with NDO, five had DSD. Initial bladder management was reflex/urge voiding (n=4), suprapubic catheterisation (SPC), (n=1) and self-intermittent catheterisation (SIC), (n=1). Two patients had multiple upper tract complications with decreased renal function, two recurrent symptomatic urinary infections and one; bladder calculus. In total, 12 operative procedures were performed to treat complications and change bladder management to, SIC+oxybutynin (n=3), ileal conduit (n=1), sacral anterior root stimulator implant (SARSI), (n=1), voiding on urge (n=1). In group 2 (4/10 patients) with a-contractile detrusor two had low compliance. Initial bladder management was SIC (n=3) and voiding on urge/straining (n=1). Two patients converted from SIC to permanent catheter drainage and reported complications. Incidental kidney stone was diagnosed in one. A total of four interventions were carried out with final management of SIC (n=2), voiding on urge/straining (n=1) and Mitrofanoff+ileocystoplasty (n=1). CONCLUSION: Bladder management in paediatric SCI is dependent on neurological level and type of injury; it changes with growth and is affected by changes in bladder management.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2006

Long-term efficacy of AMS 800 artificial urinary sphincter in male patients with urodynamic stress incontinence due to spinal cord lesion.

STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective analysis. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate long-term efficacy and complications of AMS 800 (American Medical Systems) artificial urinary sphincter (AUS) in treatment of urodynamic stress incontinence (USI) in male patients with spinal cord lesion (SCL). SETTING: London Spinal Injuries Unit, Stanmore, UK and Institute of Urology and Nephrology, London, UK. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A retrospective analysis identified nine males with SCL (five thoracic, three lumbar, one cervical) with USI, who underwent AMS 800 AUS implantation by a single surgeon at a specialist spinal injuries unit. The mean age was 38.2 years (range 27-47 years), with the mean time since injury of 13.8 years (range 6-26 years). In all, seven were complete and two were incomplete SCL (traumatic spinal injury eight, tranverse myelitis one). All implants were inserted with the urethral cuff around the bulbar urethra with a 61-70 cm water pressure reservoir in the retropubic space. Implant activation was carried out at 6 weeks postoperatively. All patients were regularly followed up in outpatient clinics at the interval of 3 months, 6 months and yearly thereafter. An ultrasound examination for the upper tracts and a video-cystometrogram (VCMG) was carried out at 3 months postsurgery and then yearly. RESULTS: The follow-up ranged from 3 to 133 months (mean 70.2 months). All implants were activated successfully with no intra- or immediate-postoperative complications. At activation all patients reported total urinary continence with seven out of nine implants (77%) currently working well. Two patients reported significant recurrent incontinence at 3 month follow-up, one of whom underwent a removal of the entire implant at the end of 3 months and the other was continent after a pump and cuff revision. The implant removed at 3 months was due to erosion and infection while the second was removed at 24 months due to secondary implant infection. Three out of seven (43%) successful implants required one revision each. One patient continues to report minimal leakage only during transfers with no leak demonstrated on postoperative VCMG. One patient with indwelling urethral catheter, two with suprapubic catheter and one voiding on urge have changed their bladder management to intermittent catheterisations postoperatively. All removals and revision procedures were carried out in the first 53 months of follow-up and four out of seven implants (57%) required no revisions. CONCLUSION: On a long term, AMS 800 is a viable option to treat USI in men with SCL. Mechanical revisions are frequent but effective. Strict patient selection, optimum preoperative bladder management and regular follow-up ensure low complication and high efficacy rates in the long term.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

Effects of repeated ejaculations on semen characteristics following spinal cord injury.

STUDY DESIGN: Prospective randomised controlled study. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effects of repeated ejaculation on semen characteristics following spinal cord injury (SCI) in a prospective randomised controlled study. SETTING: Spinal Research Centre, Stanmore, UK and Institute of Urology and Nephrology, London, UK. METHODS: A total of 74 patients with SCI above T10 were tested by vibro-ejaculation using a Ferticare penile vibrator (Multicept A/S Horsholm, Denmark) using a standardised technique. The ejaculate was examined according to WHO protocol. The successfully vibro-ejaculated subjects (n = 32) were randomised into a study group (n = 18) and a control group (n = 14). The patients in the study group vibro-ejaculated weekly for 3 months with semen analysis performed at baseline and then monthly. The control group vibro-ejaculated at baseline and at the end of the 3-month period. Two experienced observers performed the semen analysis independently. All measures were compared for statistical significance across the two groups at the beginning and at the end of the 3-month period using a two-tailed student t-test. Significance was determined at the 95% confidence interval (P < 0.05). RESULTS: In total, 10 patients in the study group and nine in the control group have completed the study so far. Six patients have dropped out of the study group and three from the control group for varied reasons. Two patients are currently enrolled in the study and control groups. The morphology and forward progression of sperm shows a statistically significant increase in the study group. The motility improves but is not statistically significant in the study group. No significant adverse effects were reported. CONCLUSIONS: We have shown in this unique randomised controlled study that repeated ejaculation does improve the sperm characteristics in SCI patients. It is suggested that SCI men should undergo repeated ejaculation for at least 3 months before trying intravaginal or intrauterine insemination techniques. If this fails then in vitro fertilisation can be used. This method promotes natural conception, is intimate and cost effective.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

Stress urinary incontinence: current understanding.

Many new concepts were introduced in epidemiology, a etiopathology and treatment of stress urinary incontinence. This review gives a short account of these concepts and compares the results of commonly used treatment options with new ones recently introduced.

Female↗
PubMed2004

Comparison of alamar blue and MTT assays for high through-put screening.

The performance of alamar blue and 3-[4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT) cell viability assays in a high through-put format were compared. A total of 117 drugs chosen for their wide range of therapeutic areas were screened at 10 microM using both assays in human hepatoma cell line HepG2. Except for terfenadine and astemizole, which performed consistently in both assays, the alamar blue assay was slightly more sensitive than the MTT assay for most compounds. The MTT assay was less sensitive detecting an effect for daunorubicin and trifluoperazine. Seven drugs, astemizole, daunorubicin, ellipticine, fluphenazine, terfenadine, thioridazine and trifluoperazine, had percent viability results of 55% or less in the alamar blue assay at the single point screen. These were re-tested in both assays for reconfirmation of cytotoxicity and determination of the EC50 values. Except for daunorubicin, the EC50 values were comparable in both assays. Based on these results and the Z'-factor assessment of assay quality, both assays provided useful information to identify in vitro cytotoxic drugs at early stages of drug candidate selection. However, careful interpretation of data is warranted due to the possibility of false positive or negative results caused by inducers and/or inhibitors of metabolic enzymes that are responsible for transformation of cell toxicity end points, as we demonstrated using dicumarol.

Carcinoma, Hepatocellular↗
PubMed2003

Surgical and patient reported outcomes of 'clam' augmentation ileocystoplasty in spinal cord injured patients.

OBJECTIVE: To study the outcomes and effectiveness of 'clam' augmentation ileocystoplasty in the treatment of suprasacral spinal cord injured patients with detrusor hyperreflexia refractory to pharmacological and other conservative therapy. METHODS: A retrospective review of spinal injured patients who had undergone 'clam' augmentation ileocystoplasty was performed, followed by a specifically designed questionnaire/telephone interview to assess patient satisfaction and other issues from this specific group of patients with suprasacral spinal cord lesions. 32 patients were followed up for a mean of 6.0 +/- 3.6 years. RESULTS: Complete continence was found in all patients. There was a significant improvement in bladder capacity from a mean 143 +/- 81 ml pre-operatively to 589 +/- 188 ml post-operatively, and the maximum detrusor pressure fell from a mean of 108 +/- 43 cm H(2)O to 19 +/- 15 cm H(2)O. Pre-operative vesico-ureteric reflux resolved completely in 4 out of 5 patients and improved from grade IV to grade II in one, illustrating the need for achieving low bladder pressures rather than the performance of an anti-reflux procedure at the time of cystoplasty. The use of the questionnaire, designed to evaluate this subset of patients after augmentation cystoplasty, highlighted the high levels of satisfaction with the operation in this group of patients with 96.2% of patients reporting an improvement in quality of life parameters. CONCLUSION: Using an appropriate questionnaire we have found high satisfaction rates, in addition to successful surgical outcomes, in spinal cord injured patients following augmentation cystoplasty. We recommend using this questionnaire as part of the work-up and ongoing assessment of spinal injured patients undergoing 'clam' augmentation ileocystoplasty.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2003

The use of the Memokath stent in the treatment of detrusor sphincter dyssynergia in spinal cord injury patients: a single-centre seven-year experience.

AIMS: A retrospective analysis of our seven-year experience with the Memokath urethral stent for the treatment of detrusor sphincter dyssynergia (DSD) in spinal cord injured (SCI) patients. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Twenty five patients with SCI underwent rhabdosphincter Memokath stent insertion. The mean age was 45.5 years (range 32-65 years). The level of injury was cervical in 14 and thoracic in 11 patients. All patients were shown to have neurogenic detrusor overactivity with DSD associated with high detrusor pressures and incomplete emptying on pre-operative video-cystometrograms (VCMG). The Memokath stent was inserted using a standardized protocol. Follow-up assessment included blood chemistry, ultrasound scan (upper tracts and residual urine) at one and three months after insertion, and a follow-up VCMG at six months. The pre-operative and six-month post-operative VCMG results were analysed by the paired t-test and p value <0.05 was taken as significant. RESULTS: There was a significant reduction in maximum detrusor pressure, duration of contraction and residual urine volume (p<0.05) on the VCMG six months after insertion of the stent. At present six patients have a Memokath stent in situ at a mean of 34.7 months (range 6-86 months). Nineteen stents were removed for several reasons at a mean of 20.3 months (range 0.25-41 months). These include, exacerbation of autonomic dysreflexic symptoms (n=3); stent migration (n=7); encrustation and stone formation (n=5); incomplete bladder emptying without obstruction (n=3); entrance into fertility program (n=1). CONCLUSION: The Memokath stent is safe, easy and quick to insert with minimal trauma to the urethra. It is effective in the management of DSD and decreasing the detrusor pressure and residual urine volume in SCI patients. Moreover the ease of its removal in a non-traumatic fashion makes this stent an attractive option when patients are still contemplating the method of bladder management, in those wishing to be involved in fertility program and in recently SCI patients who may recover some manual dexterity to perform clean intermittent self-catheterisation. It must be remembered that this is a temporary stent, as our study clearly shows that the majority are removed within two years of insertion.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

Experience of tension-free vaginal tape for the treatment of stress incontinence in females with neuropathic bladders.

STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the safety and efficacy of the tension-free vaginal tape (TVT) for the treatment of stress incontinence in females with neuropathic bladders. SETTING: London Spinal Injuries Unit, Stanmore & Institute of Urology, London, UK. METHODS: Twelve women (mean age 53.3 years; range 41-80 years) with neuropathic bladder dysfunction and stress urinary incontinence were treated with tension-free vaginal tape (TVT) between November 1997 and December 2000. The group consisted of women with: (i) traumatic spinal cord injuries (n=3); (ii) post lumbar spinal surgery (n=6); (iii) spinal stenosis (n=3). Four of the 12 patients had previously failed surgery for stress incontinence. All patients underwent pre- and post-TVT evaluation with video-urodynamic studies. RESULTS: Mean follow-up was 27.1 months (range 17-54 months). Three patients were voiding spontaneously (stress voiding) before surgery and continued to do so post-operatively. The remaining 9 were performing clean intermittent self-catheterisation before the insertion of TVT and continued to do so after the surgery. At follow up 10 patients (83.3%) were dry. The procedure failed in one patient and the other complained of mild leakage, but she reported a decrease in the number of pads used. One patient developed detrusor hyperreflexia on post-operative video-urodynamics but there was no evidence of stress incontinence. One patient had a bladder perforation on insertion of TVT, managed successfully with extended use of a urethral catheter post-operatively. Three patients developed post-operative urinary tract infection successfully treated with oral antibiotics. CONCLUSIONS: Tension-free vaginal tape insertion is minimally invasive, safe and effective for the treatment of stress incontinence in females with bladder neuropathy with intrinsic sphincter deficiency. Previous surgery for incontinence did not affect post-operative complications or outcome.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

The treatment of male stress urinary incontinence with polydimethylsiloxane in compliant bladders following spinal cord injury.

STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective analysis. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the safety and efficacy of polydimethylsiloxane (PDS, Macroplastique) submucosal injections, in the treatment of male genuine stress urinary incontinence secondary to spinal cord injury (SCI). SETTING: London Spinal Injuries Unit, Stanmore, UK and Institute of Urology and Nephrology, London, UK. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A retrospective analysis identified 14 patients treated with PDS for stress urinary incontinence secondary to SCI between 1997 and 2001. A single surgeon at a specialist spinal injuries unit managed all patients. A total of 13 patients had suffered a traumatic SCI (T11:n=2; T12:n=5; L1:n=5; L2:n=1), while one developed stress incontinence after spinal surgery. The mean age was 41 years (range 26-69 years) and the mean duration of injury was 9.6 years (range 1.5-48 years). The preoperative investigations included video cystometrogram (VCMG) confirming the presence of urodynamically proven stress incontinence without evidence of urge incontinence. Complete cure was defined as a cessation of pad usage with no evidence of leakage on VCMG. Incomplete cure with improvement was defined as a >50% reduction in the number of pads used, with incontinence present on VCMG. RESULTS: The follow-up ranged from 12 to 58 months (mean 34.7 months). Five patients (36%) reported complete success, confirmed by VCMG. Three patients (21%) reported improvement with >50% reduction in the use of pads. The procedure failed completely in six patients (43%). No immediate or late complications were noted with the procedure. CONCLUSIONS: The use of PDS is a safe and minimally invasive treatment for genuine stress urinary incontinence in males following SCI with a stable compliant bladder. We achieved complete cure in 36% of our patients with confirmation on VCMG. A further 21% reported greater than 50% reduction in usage of pads; however, on VCMG stress incontinence was demonstrated in these patients. We suggest that PDS can be used as the first line of treatment in this difficult group of patients with complex problems.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

Penile erosion in spinal cord injury--an important lesson.

STUDY DESIGN: A case report of the complications of a spinal cord injury (SCI) patient alternating between indwelling urethral catheter and a condom drainage system for bladder management. OBJECTIVE: To highlight the importance of penile care for bladder drainage following SCI. SETTING: Spinal Injuries Unit, Stanmore, UK. SUBJECT: A 39-year-old male who sustained a lumbar level SCI in December 2000. He presented acutely with leakage of urine around his condom drainage device. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: The examination revealed an eroded area on the ventral aspect of the proximal penile shaft, which corresponded to the site of condom attachment. An indwelling urethral catheter was inserted as a temporary measure before reconstruction. RESULT: At operation, in addition to the preoperatively observed area of erosion, the penile urethra was found to be cleaved for almost its entire length. CONCLUSIONS: The patient had suffered two complications from a combination of two types of bladder management, and surgery was successful in treating both the urethral cleavage and the skin erosion.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

The mesh wallstent in the treatment of detrusor external sphincter dyssynergia in men with spinal cord injury: a 12-year follow-up.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the long-term effectiveness of the UroLume trade mark wallstent (Pfizer Inc., UK) in the treatment of detrusor external sphincter dyssynergia (DESD) in quadriplegic patients. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Twelve patients with quadriplegia secondary to spinal trauma underwent external striated sphincter stenting with the UroLume wallstent instead of an external sphincterotomy for DESD (mean age 41.8 years, range 26-65). The level of injury was C4 in two, C5 in four, C6 in four, C7 in one and T6 in one. All patients were shown by preoperative video-cystometrography (VCMG) to have DESD and high-pressure, hyper-reflexic bladders with incomplete emptying. RESULTS: Seven of the 12 patients had a mean (range) follow-up of 12.7 (12.17-13.6) years; two others were lost to follow-up at 1 and 3 years and both remained free of complications during that time. Two patients developed encrustation causing obstruction, requiring stent removal within a year of insertion. Another patient with an adequately functioning stent died 7 years after surgery (chest infection). Urodynamic follow-up of the seven patients showed a significantly sustained reduction in maximum detrusor pressure and duration of detrusor contraction at> 10 years of follow-up. Five of the seven patients developed bladder neck dyssynergia of varying degrees, as shown on VCMG; all were successfully treated with bladder neck incision. There were no problems with stent migration, urethral erosion, erectile dysfunction or autonomic dysreflexia. CONCLUSION: Permanent urethral stenting using the UroLume wallstent is effective in managing DESD and provides an acceptable long-term alternative to sphincterotomy. Subsequent bladder neck dyssynergia is the main complication but this can be managed successfully with bladder neck incision. Importantly, unlike sphincterotomy, there is no significant interference with erectile function. Also, the procedure is reversible, minimally invasive and requires a shorter hospital stay.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

Screening cystoscopy and biopsy in patients with neuropathic bladder and chronic suprapubic indwelling catheters: is it valid?

PURPOSE: Screening for bladder malignancy in patients with neuropathic bladder and a chronic indwelling catheter by cystoscopy and biopsy is commonly performed. Despite this practice the test has not been fully validated to date. We analyzed our experience with this screening test and explored its validity when applied to our patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We performed a retrospective analysis of screening biopsies in 36 patients with neuropathic bladder and a chronic indwelling catheter who had undergone yearly screening from 5 years after catheter insertion. Mean time since suprapubic catheter insertion was 12.1 years (range 8.7 to 23.8). RESULTS: No tumors were ever identified in our screened group. However, histological findings were frequently abnormal, of which the most common are active chronic cystitis and squamous metaplasia. CONCLUSIONS: Our study reinforces the increasing body of evidence suggesting that screening cystoscopy and biopsy in this group of patients is not valid. As a screening test, it fulfils few of the necessary criteria.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

Intratesticular cysts and malignant potential: conservative management is an option.

Benign intratesticular cysts are rare, but recognition is essential to prevent unnecessary surgical intervention. The diagnostic dilemma is to differentiate these cysts from testicular malignancy. As they are extremely uncommon, experience of their management is limited and controversial. We present a case of a simple intratesticular cyst and discuss the diagnostic and management principles.

Aged↗