Thermal hypersensitivity in a subset of irritable bowel syndrome patients

AIM： To characterize thermal hypersensitivity in patients with constipation- and diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome （IBS）. METHODS： Thermal pain sensitivity was tested among patients with diarrhea-predominant IBS （D-IBS） and constipation-predominant IBS （C-IBS） compared to healthy subjects. A total of 42 patients （29 female and 13 male; mean age 27.0 ＋ 6.4 years） with D-IBS; 24 patients （16 female and eight male; mean age 32.5 ：1：8.8 years） with C-IBS; and 52 control subjects （34 female and 18 male; mean age 27.3 ± 8.0 years） participated in the study. Thermal stimuli were delivered using a Medoc Thermal Sensory Analyzer with a 3 cm × 3 cm surface area. Heat pain threshold （HPTh） and heat pain tolerance （HPTo） were assessed on the left ventral forearm and left calf using an ascending method of limits. The Functional Bowel Disease Severity Index （FBDSI） was also obtained for all subjects. RESULTS： Controls were less sensitive than C-IBS and D-IBS （both at P 〈 0.001） with no differences between C-IBS and D-IBS for HPTh and HPTo. Thermal hyperalgesia was present in both groups of IBS patients relative to controls, with IBS patients reporting significantly lower pain threshold and pain tolerance at both test sites. Cluster analysis revealed the presence of subgroups of IBS patients based on thermal hyperalgesia. One cluster （17% of the sample） showed a profile of heat pain sensitivity very similar to that of healthy controls; a second cluster （47% of the sample） showed moderate heat pain sensitivity; and a third cluster （36% of the sample） showed a very high degree of thermal hyperalgesia. CONCLUSION： A subset of IBS patients had thermal hypersensitivity compared to controls, who reported significantly lower HPTh and HPTo. All IBS patients had a higher score on the FBDSI than controls. Interestingly, the subset of IBS patients with high thermal sensitivity （36%） had the highest FBDSI score compared to the other two groups of IBS patients.

Freehand transperineal prostate biopsy with a coaxial needle under local anesthesia:Experience from a single institution in Malaysia

Background Freehand transperineal prostate biopsy(TPPBx)using a coaxial needle technique offers an alternative to probe-mounted freehand or template-guided techniques in the diagnosis of prostate cancer(PCa).It only requires the same equipment used for transrectal ultrasound-guided(TRUS)biopsy.Our study is the first in Malaysia to report this experience and its outcomes.We aim to determine PCa detection rate and pain tolerability of freehand TPPBx utilizing a coaxial needle under local anesthesia(LA).Methods Institutional review board approval was obtained from National Medical Research Register(NMRR ID-21-02052-VIL).We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of patients who underwent TPPBx between August 2020 and April 2022.Records were reviewed for patients’characteristics,prostate volume,prostate-specific antigen(PSA)results,biopsy results and pain tolerability.Data was analyzed to determine PCa and clinically significant prostate cancer(csPCa)detection rate.LA was achieved using perineal skin infiltration and a periprostatic nerve block.The commonly used standard side-firing transrectal ultrasound with its Prostate Biplane Transducer was used as an imaging guide.The principles of the Ginsburg protocol were followed.Pain tolerability was assessed using a visual analog scale.Results A total of 55 patients with elevated PSA levels underwent freehand TPPBx under LA.The mean age was 67.3 years,the median PSA was 14.2 ng/mL,and the median PSA density(PSAD)was 0.33 ng/mL/cc.The optimal PSAD cutoff for predicting csPCa was 0.35 ng/mL/cc(area under the curve[AUC],0.792;sensitivity,87.5%;specificity,69.2%).PCa was detected in 24 patients(43.6%),of whom 16(29.1%)had csPCa.The median pain scores during LA infiltration and biopsy were four and two,respectively,which were significant different(P<0.05).TPPBx exhibited an infection rate of zero.Conclusion The PCa detection rate and patient tolerability of freehand TPPBx using a coaxial needle are similar to those of a contemporary published series.The use of existing equipment that is used for TRUS biopsy allows for widespread use and transition from TRUS biopsy.