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To assess the effectiveness, safety and risk factors of failure and complications associated with Adjustable Continence Therapy (ACT®) balloons as a treatment for female stress urinary incontinence (SUI).In the present multicentric retrospective study, all women implanted with ACT® balloons between 2000 and 2018 were considered eligible. Effectiveness and safety were assessed at 1 year, and risk factors for failure and complications were sought. The effectiveness was categorized into three distinct groups: Success = maximum 1 pad/day and patient's impression of improvement using a numerical rating scale (NRS) ≥ 8/10; Improvement = decrease of daily pad use and NRS ≥ 5/10; Failure = increase or stability of daily pad use or NRS5/10. The intra- and postoperative surgical complications were collected.Over the study period, 281 women were included. Among them, 104 (37.0%), 94 (33.5%) and 83 (29.5%) were categorized as success, improvement, and failure, respectively. Intra-, early and late postoperative complications occurred in 13 (4.6%), 35 (12.5%) and 75 (26.7%) women, respectively. Most early surgical complications were minor according to the Dindo-Clavien classification. Of women that presented a late postoperative surgical complication, 64 (22.8%) underwent an explantation performed under local or general anesthesia without associated sequalae.The short-term effectiveness associated with ACT® balloons, their minimally invasive implantation and the frequent but easily manageable and sequelae-free complications suggest that they should be part of the therapeutic arsenal for female SUI.

This paper presents the results of a reassessment of the Predynastic Egyptian Fibrous Ware (Naqada IIA–B–Naqada IIIA2–B) diffused in Egypt and beyond. Fibrous Ware is characterised by a particular temper made of long fibres and has been defined as a typical Lower Egyptian ceramic production. The present study is based on the technological analysis of pottery samples from Tell el-Iswid, Tell el-Samara and Tell el-Fara’in/Buto, as well as on bibliographical research into the chronological and geographical diffusion of this ware. The results have shown that Fibrous Ware is characterised by its own unique technological tradition, which differs from the tradition identified for the Lower Egyptian production and is therefore not part of the latter. Finally, as a working hypothesis to be developed in the future, we propose to view this ceramic as the representation of mobile or semi-mobile groups who were located at the fringes of the western Nile Delta.

To determine whether use of neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) is associated with a higher risk of post-operative complications following radical cystectomy (RC) for bladder cancer (BCa).We retrospectively reviewed records of patients undergoing RC for non-metastatic urothelial BCa at 13 tertiary care centres from 2007-2019. Patients who received NAC ('NAC + RC' group) were compared with those who underwent upfront RC ('RC alone' group) for intra-operative variables, incidence of post-operative complications as per the Clavien-Dindo classification (CDC) and rates of re-admission and re-intervention. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was performed to determine predictors of CDC overall and CDC major (grade III-V) complications. We also analysed the trend of NAC utilization over the study period.Of the 3113 patients included, 968 (31.1%) received NAC while the remaining 2145 (68.9%) underwent upfront RC for BCa. There was no significant difference between the NAC + RC and RC alone groups with regards to 30-day CDC overall (53.2% vs 54.6%, p = 0.4) and CDC major (15.5% vs 16.5%, p = 0.6) complications. The two groups were comparable for the rate of surgical re-intervention (14.6% in each group) and re-hospitalization (19.6% in NAC + RC vs 17.9% in RC alone, p = 0.2%) at 90 days. On multivariable regression analysis, NAC use was not found to be a significant predictor of 90-day CDC overall (OR 1.02, CI 0.87-1.19, p = 0.7) and CDC major (OR 1.05, CI 0.87-1.26, p = 0.6) complications. We also observed that the rate of NAC utilization increased significantly (p 0.001) from 11.1% in 2007 to 41.2% in 2019, reaching a maximum of 48.3% in 2018.This large multicentre analysis with a substantial rate of NAC utilization showed that NAC use does not lead to an increased risk of post-operative complications following RC for BCa. This calls for increasing NAC use to allow patients to avail of its proven oncologic benefit.

AIMS To compare efficacy and safety between neurogenic and non-neurogenic women after adjustable continence therapy (ACT®) balloons implantation to treat stress urinary incontinence (SUI) due to intrinsic sphincter deficiency. METHODS In the present retrospective multicentric study, all neurogenic and non-neurogenic women implanted with ACT® balloons between 2000 and 2018 were considered for inclusion. Efficacy was compared 1 year after implantation, and women were allocated in three different groups as follows. Success: maximum 1 pad per day and patient's impression of improvement assessed using a numeral rating scale (NRS) ≥8/10. Improvement: decrease of daily pad use and/or NRS ≥5/10. Failure: increase or stability of daily pad use or NRS