Purpose To investigate the effect of patient positioning on tendinosis grade, visible range, and infraspinatus tendon (IST) thickness, and to determine the feasibility of internal rotation (IR) position to assess IST on ultrasound (US). Materials and Methods This study included 52 shoulders of 48 subjects who were evaluated for IST in three different positions: neutral position (N), IR, and position with the ipsilateral hand on the contralateral shoulder (HC). Two radiologists retrospectively graded IST tendinosis from grade 0 to grade 3 and the visible range from grade 1 to grade 4. The thickness of the IST was measured by another radiologist with a short-axis view. A generalized estimating equation was used for statistical analysis. Results The tendinosis grades were higher in the HC position than in the IR position, with a cumulative odds ratio of 2.087 (0.004, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.268–3.433). The tendinosis grades in the HC position ( p = 0.370) and IR position ( p = 0.146) were not significantly different from those in the N position. The overall difference in IST thickness was significant ( p < 0.001), but the visible range ( p = 0.530) was not significantly different according to position. Conclusion Patient positioning significantly affected the grade of tendinosis and thickness but not the visible range of the IST. The IR position is a feasible position for assessing the IST on US.

Purpose About one-third of patients who undergo radical nephroureterectomy (RNUx) for upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC) experience intravesical recurrence (IVR). This study investigated whether pyuria is a feasible predictor of IVR after RNUx in patients with UTUC. Materials and Methods Seven hundred forty-three patients with UTUC who underwent RNUx at a single institute were analyzed in this study. The participants were divided into two groups: those without pyuria (non-pyuria) and those with pyuria. Kaplan–Meier survival analysis was performed, and p-values were assessed using the log-rank test. Cox regression analyses were performed to identify the independent predictors of survival. Results The pyuria group had a shorter IVR-free survival period (p=0.009). The five-year IVR-free survival rate was 60.0% in the non-pyuria group vs. 49.7% in the pyuria group according to the Kaplan-Meier survival analysis. After the multivariate Cox regression analysis, pyuria (hazard ratio [HR]=1.368; p=0.041), a concurrent bladder tumor (HR=1.757; p=0.005), preoperative ureteroscopy (HR=1.476; p=0.013), laparoscopic surgery (HR=0.682; p=0.048), tumor multiplicity (HR=1.855; p=0.007), and a larger tumor (HR=1.041; p=0.050) were predictors of risk for IVR. There was no association between pyuria and recurrence-free survival (p=0.057) or cancer-specific survival (p=0.519) in the Kaplan–Meier survival analysis. Conclusions This study concluded that pyuria was an independent predictor of IVR in patients with UTUC after RNUx.