Shock wave lithotripsy for ureteral stones in elderly male patients

Introduction.?Age has never been considered as a factor in the treatment of ureteral stones, but elderly male patients may suffer from concomitant illnesses that may affect SWL results, such as voiding difficulties and musculo-skeletal and cardio-vascular disorders. The aim of this study was to assess the success rate and complications of shock wave lithotripsy (SWL) for all size and location ureteral stones in patients older than 70 years of age.

Patients and Methods.?We retrospectively reviewed the charts and radiology films of all patients who had undergone SWL for ureteral stones with the HM3 lithotriptor and compared the results of patients younger than 70 years to those older than 70 years.

Results.?During 2000–2003, 238 consecutive male patients (23 older than 70 years) underwent SWL under regional anesthesia for all size and locations ureteral stones. Stone sizes, locations, opacity, and pre-operative drainage procedures matched in both groups. The overall stone-free rate was 91% for both groups. Complications were recorded in 1% of the older patients and 3.7% of the younger ones. No treatment-related mortality was recorded.

Conclusions.?Age itself has no effect on the success rate of SWL with the HM3 lithotripter for ureteral stones. In general, SWL treatment showed a high success rate with minimal morbidity and no treatment-related mortality.     

农业经济研究的价值

经济学家对自然科学与农业研究的价值已经进行了深入的探讨,但农业领域经济学研究的作用却鲜为人知。经济研究所提供的“产品”可分为三类:新的经济信息、促进技术进步的产品、导致政策产生的产品。每种产品的用户、影响力和效益不尽相同。我们认为,研究的作用取决于研究成果的     

AN ANALYSIS OF THE USEFULNESS OF DISAGGREGATED ACCOUNTING DATA FOR FORECASTS OF CORPORATE PERFORMANCE*

The purpose of this paper is to derive the conditions under which disaggregated accounting data contribute to more accurate forecasts of corporate performance. A comparison formula is derived and applied to actual data. The results obtained indicate that disaggregated data do not necessarily produce better forecasts of corporate performance than do aggregated data. The paper concludes with implications of the results to some reporting issues.