Currently, abdominal obesity has reached an epidemic stage and obesity represents an important challenge for worldwide health authorities. Epidemiologic studies have demonstrated that the stone risk incidence increases with Body Mass Index, through multiple pathways. Metabolic syndrome and diabetes are associated with an increased renal stones disease incidence. The aim of this systematic review was to investigate the prevalence, morbidity, risk factors involved in the association between obesity and urolithiasis. The search involved finding relevant studies from MEDLINE, EMBASE, Ovid, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, CINAHL, Google Scholar, and individual urological journals between January 2001 and May 2017. The inclusion criteria were for studies written in the English language, reporting on the association between obesity and urinary stones. The underlying pathophysiology of stone formation in obese patients is thought to be related to insulin resistance, dietary factors, and a lithogenic urinary profile. Uric acid stones and calcium oxalate stones are observed frequently in these patients. Insulin resistance is thought to alter the renal acid-base metabolism, resulting in a lower urine pH, and increasing the risk of uric acid stone disease. Obesity is also associated with excess nutritional intake of lithogenic substances and with an increase in urinary tract infection incidence. Recent studies highlighted that renal stone disease increases the risk of myocardial infarction, progression of chronic kidney disease, and diabetes. Contemporary, bariatric surgery has been shown to be associated with hyperoxaluria and oxalate nephropathy. Certainly, the many health risks of obesity, including nephrolithiasis, will add more burden on urologists and nephrologists. Obesity related nephrolithiasis seems to necessitate weight loss as primary treatment, but the recognition of the associated complications is necessary to prevent induction of new and equally severe medical problems. The optimal approach to obesity control that minimizes stone risk needs to be determined in order to manage obesity-induced renal stones disease.

Fournier's gangrene is an infectious necrotizing fasciitis of the perineum and genital regions and has a high mortality rate. It is a synergistic infection caused by a mixture of aerobic and anaerobic organisms and predisposing factors, including diabetes mellitus, alcoholism, malnutrition, and low socioeconomic status. We report a case of Fournier's gangrene in a patient with unknown type II diabetes submitted to 24-hour catheterization 15 days before gangrene onset. The patient, a 60-year-old Caucasian man, presented with a swollen, edematous, emphysematous scrotum with a crepitant skin and a small circle of necrosis. A lack of resistance along the dartos fascia of the scrotum and Scarpa's lower abdominal wall fascia combined with the presence of gas and pus during the first surgical debridement also supported the diagnosis of Fournier's gangrene. On the basis of the microbiological culture, the patient was given multiple antibiotic therapy, combined hypoglycemic treatment, hyperbaric oxygen therapy, and several surgical debridements. After five days the infection was not completely controlled and a vacuum-assisted closure device therapy was started. This report describes the successful multistep approach of an immediate surgical debridement combined with hyperbaric oxygen and negative pressure wound therapy. The vacuum-assisted closure is a well-known method used to treat complex wounds. In this case study, vacuum-assisted closure treatment was effective and the patient did not require reconstructive surgery. Our report shows that bladder catheterization, a minimally invasive maneuver, may also cause severe infective consequences in high-risk patients, such as patients with diabetes.

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