Another excuse to go to doc 4 penectomy
Posted: Fri Oct 07, 2005 3:15 am
Did not know penectomy is an official medical word till this:
http://www.personalmd.com/news/a1999051703.shtml
Cocaine Use Linked To Penile Injury
NEW YORK, May 17 (Reuters Health) -- In some cases, cocaine abuse can cause priapism, a painful and dangerous condition in which prolonged erection leads to tissue damage in the penis, according to a report.
Three men ranging in age from 38 to 49 came to an emergency department with priapism lasting from 24- to 96-hours, report Dr. Andrew L. Altman and colleagues, of Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, in the June issue of The Journal of Urology.
The researchers note that 2 of the 3 patients denied using cocaine when questioned, but had urine screening tests "strongly positive for cocaine.
The patients had no obvious predisposition to the condition, which can also be caused by spinal cord injury or blood disorders such as leukemia or sickle cell anemia. The only risk factor appeared to be cocaine use in the previous 24 hours, which was confirmed by urine toxicology tests.
One of the cases appears to be the first reported case of priapism associated with the use of crack cocaine.
All three patients underwent aspiration of blood and irrigation of the penis, and two underwent surgical placement of a shunt to relieve the pressure, but all the cases were difficult to treat. In one case the treatment was so unsuccessful that the patient "ultimately required partial penectomy for infected, gangrenous, distal penile tissue," according to the report.
It is not clear exactly why cocaine abuse caused the painful condition, but delaying treatment for so long appeared to contribute to the inability to treat it, according to the Ohio physicians.
SOURCE: Journal of Urology 1999;161:1817-1818.
http://www.personalmd.com/news/a1999051703.shtml
Cocaine Use Linked To Penile Injury
NEW YORK, May 17 (Reuters Health) -- In some cases, cocaine abuse can cause priapism, a painful and dangerous condition in which prolonged erection leads to tissue damage in the penis, according to a report.
Three men ranging in age from 38 to 49 came to an emergency department with priapism lasting from 24- to 96-hours, report Dr. Andrew L. Altman and colleagues, of Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, in the June issue of The Journal of Urology.
The researchers note that 2 of the 3 patients denied using cocaine when questioned, but had urine screening tests "strongly positive for cocaine.
The patients had no obvious predisposition to the condition, which can also be caused by spinal cord injury or blood disorders such as leukemia or sickle cell anemia. The only risk factor appeared to be cocaine use in the previous 24 hours, which was confirmed by urine toxicology tests.
One of the cases appears to be the first reported case of priapism associated with the use of crack cocaine.
All three patients underwent aspiration of blood and irrigation of the penis, and two underwent surgical placement of a shunt to relieve the pressure, but all the cases were difficult to treat. In one case the treatment was so unsuccessful that the patient "ultimately required partial penectomy for infected, gangrenous, distal penile tissue," according to the report.
It is not clear exactly why cocaine abuse caused the painful condition, but delaying treatment for so long appeared to contribute to the inability to treat it, according to the Ohio physicians.
SOURCE: Journal of Urology 1999;161:1817-1818.