We examined temporal trends in artificial urinary sphincter use,

We examined temporal trends in artificial urinary sphincter use, focusing on adoption of the device with time, individual surgeon volume, indications for placement and differences in application by gender.

Materials and Methods: Data on artificial urinary sphincter related operations performed in the United States from 1975 and thereafter were provided by the manufacturer. Surgical and demographic data on each patient were recorded and analyzed on an annual

basis at 5-year intervals to determine the number of procedures performed as well as individual surgeon volume. Indications for implantation or revision were also studied and recorded in 5-year selleck compound increments.

Results: Artificial urinary sphincter use increased dramatically from 11 cases in 1975 to 3,762 in 2005. Most increased volume was due to an increase irk device use in men with little growth in use in women. More than 90% of surgeons who participated in artificial urinary sphincter surgery performed 5 or fewer related cases per year (median 1 to 2) in most years. The annual proportion of revision surgeries stabilized after an initial increase. The most prevalent indication for initial implantation in men from 1985 and

thereafter was incontinence after radical prostatectomy. In women neurogenic disease was consistently the most common indication for placement.

Conclusions: MLN0128 ic50 Artificial urinary sphincter use has increased dramatically in the United States since 1975 and it now appears to be stable. Placement is primarily performed in men with incontinence after radical prostatectomy. Only a small minority of surgeons perform a high volume of

artificial urinary sphincter cases.”
“Background: This trial was designed to determine selleck chemical whether cardiac-resynchronization therapy (CRT) with biventricular pacing would reduce the risk of death or heart-failure events in patients with mild cardiac symptoms, a reduced ejection fraction, and a wide QRS complex.

Methods: During a 4.5-year period, we enrolled and followed 1820 patients with ischemic or nonischemic cardiomyopathy, an ejection fraction of 30% or less, a QRS duration of 130 msec or more, and New York Heart Association class I or II symptoms. Patients were randomly assigned in a 3:2 ratio to receive CRT plus an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) (1089 patients) or an ICD alone (731 patients). The primary end point was death from any cause or a nonfatal heart-failure event (whichever came first). Heart-failure events were diagnosed by physicians who were aware of the treatment assignments, but they were adjudicated by a committee that was unaware of assignments.

Results: During an average follow-up of 2.4 years, the primary end point occurred in 187 of 1089 patients in the CRT-ICD group (17.2%) and 185 of 731 patients in the ICD-only group (25.3%) (hazard ratio in the CRT-ICD group, 0.66; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.52 to 0.84; P=0.001).

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