AMH is only diagnosed by microscopy; a dipstick reading suggestive of hematuria should not lead to imaging or further investigation without confirmation of three or greater red blood cells per high power field. The evaluation and follow-up algorithm and guidelines provide a systematic approach to the patient with AMH. All patients 35 years or older should undergo cystoscopy, and upper urinary tract imaging is indicated in all adults with AMH in the absence of known benign causation. The imaging modalities and physical evaluation techniques are evolving, and these guidelines will need to be updated as the effectiveness of these become available. Please visit the AUA website at http://www.auanet.org/content/media/asymptomatic_microhematuria_guideline.pdf to view this guideline in its entirety.

Background and Purpose —In Germany, basic data on stroke morbidity are lacking. If a population-based register in former East Germany is excluded, only routine mortality statistics have thus far provided information on epidemiology of stroke. Therefore, a population-based register of stroke was set up in Southern Germany to determine incidence and case fatality in a defined German population. Methods —The Erlangen Stroke Project (ESPro) is a prospective community-based study among the 101 450 residents of the city of Erlangen, Bavaria, Germany. Standard definitions and overlapping case-finding methods were used to identify all cases of first-ever stroke in all age-groups, occurring in the 2 years of registration (April 1, 1994, to March 31, 1996). All identified cases of first-ever strokes were followed up at 3 and 12 months from onset. Results —During 2 years of registration, 354 first-ever-in-a-lifetime strokes (FELS) were registered. The diagnosis and stroke type were confirmed by CT scan in 95% of cases. Fifty-one percent of all FELS occurred in the age group ≥75 years of age. The crude annual incidence rate was 1.74 per 1000 (1.47 for men and 2.01 for women). After age-adjustment to the European population, the incidence rate was 1.34 per 1000 (1.48 for men and 1.25 for women). The annual crude incidence rate of cerebral infarction was 1.37/1000, intracerebral hemorrhage 0.24/1000, subarachnoid hemorrhage 0.06/1000, and unspecified stroke 0.08/1000. Overall case fatality at 28 days was 19.4%, at 3 months it was 28.5%, and at 1 year 37.3%. Conclusions —The first prospective community-based stroke register including all age groups in Germany revealed incidence rates of stroke similar to those reported from other population-based studies in western industrialized countries, but lower than that observed in former East Germany.

Effectiveness of transcatheter embolization for treatment of bleeding duodenal ulcers was evaluated in 57 patients followed up for at least 5 years. Terminal muscular branch vessel embolization was effective for initial control of bleeding in 27 of 28 cases, and gastroduodenal artery embolization was effective in 25 of 29 (P = .371). Terminal vessel embolization was more effective in attaining long-term control of bleeding (15 of 28 patients) than was gastroduodenal artery embolization (eight of 29) (P = .084). Occlusion of terminal vessels with 6-cyanoacrylate resulted in long-term control of bleeding in nine of 10 patients. With selective embolization of terminal vessels, late complications of duodenal stenosis occurred in seven of 28 patients; when occlusion was at the level of the gastroduodenal artery (P = .131), this developed in only two of 29. Occlusion of the proximal gastroduodenal artery by means of epsilon-aminocaproic acid-induced autologous clot was the most innocuous technique. Retrograde perfusion via the superior mesenteric and inferior pancreaticoduodenal artery (though at a reduced flow rate and pressure gradient) and reconstitution of flow after clot lysis are the theoretical advantages of this technique.