PurposeWith growing interest in early imaging, the aim of our study was to define the most practical modality for routine clinical use for the diagnosis of acute pyelonephritis (APN). We compared the sensitivity of enhanced computerized tomography (CT), dimercaptosuccinic acid (DMSA) scintigraphy, and Doppler ultrasonography (DUS) by using clinical findings as the standard of reference.Materials and MethodsA total of 207 APN patients (191 women, 16 men; mean age, 49.4 years; range, 17-88 years) were enrolled in this study. All the patients underwent imaging modalities during hospitalization. SPECT images were obtained 4 hours after injection of 99mTc-DMSA. Transverse and coronary CT images were obtained before and after injection of the contrast agent. DUS was performed in the longitudinal, transverse, and coronal planes. All the images were read independently by a single radiologist and a nuclear medicine specialist. The sensitivity of each modality for detecting APN was compared.ResultsCT showed significantly superior sensitivity compared with that of DUS (81.0% vs. 33.3%, respectively, n=147). DMSA scintigraphy also showed significantly superior sensitivity compared with that of DUS (74.7% vs. 33.3%, respectively, n=150). Compared with DMSA scintigraphy, CT showed superior sensitivity, but the difference was not statistically significant (81.0% vs. 74.8%, respectively, n=147, p=0.163).ConclusionsFor cases of clinically suspected APN, CT and DMSA scintigraphy appear to be equally sensitive and reliable for detecting APN, although CT is more practical in various fields. DUS was significantly less sensitive.

Age is not a considerable factor in determining the antibiotic resistance in febrile UTIs. Ciprofloxacin should be withheld from both sexes until culture results indicate its use. Second- or third-generation cephalosporins such as cefoxitin and cefotaxime can be used empirically only in females.

Purpose To study the sexual behavior and status of sexually transmitted urethritis (STU) in the elderly population of South Korea. Materials and Methods Congregating places for elderly population, which were selected on the expected risk of sexually transmitted infections, were visited to study their sexual behavior, awareness on sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), and STU status using a specially developed survey and urine polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test. In addition, analysis of the Health Insurance Review & Assessment Service (HIRA) database was done to study the nationwide status and trends of STU of the elderly population. Results The study found that approximately 42% of elderly South Koreans were sexually active. Elderlies in the high-risk group showed a higher percentage of multiple sexual partners and prostitution than elderlies in the low-risk group. Only 3% and 14% in the low-risk group and high-risk group used condoms, showing a very low rate of condom use. Both the urine PCR results and HIRA database analysis showed that the prevalence of STU was not high and it remained stable in recent years, implying that currently, STU is not a significant burden on public health in the elderly population of South Korea. Conclusions The current study presented the sexual behavior in the elderly population of South Korea, as well as the recent prevalence and trend of STU in the elderly population. These results may be used as baseline data for future study, education, prevention and public campaign plan for STDs in the elderly population.

Retroperitoneal LRN for a large (>7 cm) solid renal tumor demonstrated a superior result in terms of operation time, estimated blood loss, and time to start diet than transperitoneal LRN. Other perioperative outcomes and complication rate were comparable between the two approaches. We believe that with sufficient experience, retroperitoneal LRN may be an effective and safe procedure for large (>7 cm) solid renal tumors.

PurposeWe performed this study in order to evaluate the incidence and characteristics of urolithiasis in patients with malignant hematologic diseases.Materials and MethodsNine hundred one patients who underwent medical treatment for malignant hematologic disease and 40,543 patients who visited the emergency room and without malignant hematologic diseases were included in our study. The patients with malignant hematologic diseases were divided into two groups depending on their primary treatment. Group I included patients with acute and chronic leukemia (AML, ALL, CML, CLL) for which chemotherapy and steroid therapy was necessary, and group II included patients with anaplastic anemia and myelodysplastic syndrome and who had undergone repeated transfusion for treatment. Comparisons were made between the two groups in respect to the incidence of urolithiasis and the stones' radiopacity.ResultsTwenty nine patients (3.2%) of the 901 malignant hematologic patients were diagnosed with urolithiasis, compared to 575 patients (1.4%) of 40,543 emergency room patients. There was a significant increase of the incidence of urolithiasis in the malignant hematologic group. Compared to the general patients, the patients with malignant hematologic diseases had a higher rate of radiolucent stones (46.6% versus 16.3%, respectively), and the difference was significant.ConclusionThe incidence of urolithiasis for malignant hematologic patients was significantly higher than that for the control group.