Objective:To assess the impact of ketamine abuse on genitourinary tract dysfunction. Methods: Eleven patients with urinary tract symptoms and a history of ketamine abuse in recent years were studied. Urinalysis, urine culture, renal function tests, abdominal sonography and urodynamic studies were done. Bladder biopsies were carried out in selected cases. Results: The most common complaints were lower urinary tract symptoms, including dysuria, frequency, urgency and gross hematuria. Urinalyses showed nonbacterial pyuria and were negative for tuberculosis. All biopsy specimens showed infiltrations of granulocytes (mostly eosinophils) and mast cells within the bladder tissue. Medications produced only slight clinical improvements. Intravesical instillation of hyaluronan solution was performed for some patients and a significant improvement of lower urinary tract symptoms was observed. Conclusions: Although the dosage and duration of ketamine abuse causing severe side-effects are still unclear, some patients develop irreversible histological changes in the urinary tract. Therefore, clinicians should be aware of the negative effects of ketamine abuse on genitourinary tract function.
A 16-year-old girl came to our emergency department because of severe headache. For the past 3 years, she had presented at several emergency departments with a similar problem. When she was hospitalized for further investigation, she developed severe arterial hypertension for which an unusual cause was found by imaging of the abdomen.
Primitive neuroectodermal tumor (PNET) is a malignant small round cell tumor and typically arises from bone or soft tissue in adolescents and young adults. Renal PNET is extraordinarily rare and exhibits highly aggressive biological behavior with poor prognosis.We present here a new case of renal PNET in a 31-year-old female. The patients were referred to our hospital because of left flank pain with nausea and vomiting for 1 week. A computed tomography scan revealed a 14.7 × 12.7 cm well-defined, unevenly mass lesion with both solid and cystic components and the tumor was not enhanced uniformly.A preoperative diagnosis of cystic renal cell carcinoma and urinary tract infection was made. The patient undergone anti-inflammatory therapy followed by a left radical nephrectomy. Taken with morphological pattern and immunohistochemical markers, a diagnosis of renal PNET was made. Two cycles of combined chemotherapy were executed. At the 14-month follow-up, no evidence of metastasis or recurrence was indicated.This case reminds clinicians that for adolescents and young adults with a suspicious renal mass, a diagnosis of renal PNET should be always considered. An initial surgery followed by radiotherapy and chemotherapy is suggested for the therapeutic management.
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