|
| ||
|
|
||
Biopsy Clinic (biopsy + clinic)
Selected AbstractsThe usefulness of a diagnostic biopsy clinic in a genitourinary medicine setting: recent experience and a review of the literatureJOURNAL OF THE EUROPEAN ACADEMY OF DERMATOLOGY & VENEREOLOGY, Issue 8 2006I Palamaras Abstract Genital diseases include a wide range of lesions e.g. infectious and inflammatory. In most cases a clinical diagnosis is reached without the need for a biopsy. Nonetheless, a genital biopsy is safe and may help to confirm the diagnosis. We established a dedicated diagnostic biopsy clinic in 2003. Our objective was to evaluate the effectiveness of our diagnostic biopsy clinic and compare it with other Genitourinary medicine (GUM) clinics in the UK. A retrospective case-note study was performed on 71 patients referred to the biopsy clinic with persistent genital lesions over a 12-month period. Forty-seven biopsies were performed (71% biopsy rate). 43 specimens (92%) were appropriate for histopathological diagnosis. Of these 15% were lichen planus, 15% lichen sclerosis, 10% psoriasis, 7.5% each: eczema, Zoon's and non-specific balanitis. The remainder represented a variety of other conditions. In 27 cases (68%) the clinical diagnosis was consistent with the histological result. The possibility of self-referral and walk-in nature of our GUM service substantially decrease the waiting times for assessment of anogenital disorders. We had a lower biopsy rate for the diagnosis of non-specific balanitis (7.5%) compared with the average rate (21.5%) in 14 UK GUM clinics and good agreement between clinical and histological diagnosis. An empirical first treatment, with simple emollients before biopsy, appears to be a safe clinical approach for the treatment of non-specific balanitis. A multidisciplinary approach (GUM physicians, dermatologists and urologists/gynaecologists) could help prevent unnecessary biopsies and improve correlation between clinical and histological diagnosis. [source] Measuring the psychosocial impact of population-based prostate-specific antigen testing for prostate cancer in the UKBJU INTERNATIONAL, Issue 4 2006Lucy A. Brindle OBJECTIVE To evaluate the psychosocial impact of participation in a population-based prostate-specific antigen (PSA) testing programme, akin to screening, and to explore the relationship between urinary symptoms reported before PSA testing and the response to the subsequent PSA result. PATIENTS AND METHODS This prospective questionnaire study was nested within the case-finding component of the ProtecT (prostate testing for cancer and treatment) feasibility study (ISRCTN20141297). Men aged 50,69 years from 18 general practices in three cities in the UK completed the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), the Short Form-12 (SF-12) Health Survey, and the International Continence Society ,male' (ICSmale) questionnaires before giving consent for a PSA test in a community clinic (baseline). Men with an ,abnormal' PSA result returned for further investigation (including biopsy) and repeated these questionnaires before biopsy. RESULTS At baseline, study participants had similar levels of anxiety and depression to the general male population. There was no increase in the HADS scores, or reduction in the SF-12 mental health component summary score, on attendance at the biopsy clinic after receiving an ,abnormal' PSA result. Urinary symptoms were associated with levels of anxiety and depression before receiving a PSA result (baseline), but were not associated with anxiety and depression at biopsy independently of baseline scores. Therefore changes in anxiety or depression at biopsy did not appear to differ between those with and without urinary symptoms. CONCLUSIONS This study confirms the findings of other studies that the deleterious effects of receiving an abnormal PSA result during population screening are not identified by generic health-status questionnaires. Comparisons with outcomes of studies measuring cancer-specific distress and using qualitative research methods raise the question of whether a prostate cancer screening-specific instrument is required. However, a standardized measure of anxiety identified differences at baseline between those who did and did not report urinary symptoms. These findings suggest that it might be advisable to better inform men undergoing PSA testing about the uncertain relationship between urinary symptoms and prostate cancer, to minimize baseline levels of psychological distress. [source] | ||||||||||