(Introduction) Beginning in April of 2022, infertility services-including assisted reproductive technologies and examinations and treatments for male infertility-were covered by health insurance in Japan. Although these changes are expected to bolster birth rates in Japan, increased numbers of patients and surgeries are anticipated, particularly following reductions in patient visits caused by COVID-19.

(Materials and methods) We surveyed 13 members of the Male Infertility Special Interest Group of the Japanese Society for Reproductive Medicine using Microsoft Forms. Respondents were asked about the number of new male infertility patients and surgeries at their respective facilities before the COVID-19 pandemic, after the first wave, after the sixth wave, and after the insurance changes to cover treatments for male infertility. Respondents were also asked to describe challenges in meeting the demand created by these insurance coverage changes.

(Results) Patients and surgeries (varicocelectomy and testicular sperm extraction) declined markedly after the first wave of COVID-19 but gradually recovered after the sixth wave. However, once male infertility-related services were covered by insurance in Japan, respondents observed a marked increase in new patients and surgeries compared to pre-COVID-19. The most frequently reported problem was that sperm cryopreservation was not covered by insurance.

(Conclusions) This survey should be readministered after additional time has passed to capture longer-term changes following changes to insurance coverage in Japan. We anticipate the responses to the survey will reflect ongoing challenges associated with changes in insurance coverage for male infertility-related services.

(Objective) We report the effectiveness of combination therapy with vibegron in pediatric patients with neurogenic bladder inadequately responding to anticholinergic agents.

(Subjects and methods) This retrospective study involved 13 pediatric patients with neurogenic bladder treated with anticholinergics at our department from November 2019 to January 2021 who had an inadequate response and received combination therapy with vibegron. Changes in the volume of urinary incontinence before and after the use of vibegron reported during interviews from the 13 patients were compared. In addition, bladder capacity at the end of examination, bladder capacity at the end of examination/expected bladder capacity (EBC), and bladder compliance were compared using the Wilcoxon signed rank test in 9 patients for whom urodynamics (UDS) or video urodynamics (VUDS) was performed before and after introduction of vibegron.

(Results) The 13 patients comprised 8 boys and 5 girls. The median age was 13 years (range, 5-18 years). Underlying diseases included 9 cases of spina bifida, 1 case of Hinman syndrome, 1 case of cervical vertebra injury, 1 case of idiopathic cervical epidural hematoma combined with spina bifida, and 1 case of spinal cord infarction. Eight of the 13 patients experienced decrease in urinary incontinence after the introduction of vibegron. All 9 patients who underwent UDS or VUDS before and after introduction of vibegron displayed significant differences in bladder capacity at the end of the examination, bladder capacity at the end of the examination/EBC, and bladder compliance, indicating improvement.

(Conclusion) Combination therapy with vibegron is effective for pediatric patients with neurogenic bladder who have inadequately responded to anticholinergic agents.

A 32-year-old man visited the emergency department complaining of the right scrotal pain, which occurred suddenly during sexual intercourse. Palpation revealed induration and tenderness on the caudal side of the right testis. Ultrasonography revealed a mosaic-like mass on the caudal side of the testis and no difference in blood flow between the right and left testes. The patient underwent a thorough examination the next day. Although the blood test did not show elevated tumor marker levels, testicular MRI revealed a mass with heterogeneous signal in the right scrotum. Subsequently, the patient was referred to another hospital for surgery. The pathological examination revealed a mixed germ cell tumor: seminoma (60%), teratoma (20%), and embryonal carcinoma (20%). One year postoperatively, the patient has had no recurrence. Testicular tumors are rarely discovered in acute scrotum, and few such cases have been reported. Torsion of the tumor, hemorrhage, necrosis, rupture, and infection have been reported as mechanisms of occurrence. When acute scrotum is diagnosed, testicular tumor should be considered as a differential diagnosis.

Mitochondrial respiratory chain disorders (MRCD) constitute a highly heterogeneous group both with regard to clinical manifestations and underlying genetic/biochemical defects. Management of urological complications such as vesicoureteral reflux (VUR) has not been discussed in cases with MRCD. We report a pediatric case of MRCD with recurrent urinary tract infections (UTI) due to primary and secondary VUR.

A 6-month-old boy with multiple malformations and a history of aspiration pneumonia was referred to our department for febrile UTI (fUTI). Voiding cystourethrography showed high-grade left VUR and a normal bladder. As a spontaneous resolution of VUR was not observed, he underwent left ureteral reimplantation concomitant with left orchidopexy at the age of 1 year and 7 months. Although he had fUTI immediately after surgery, no recurrence of the UTI occurred after discharge. At the age of 3 years, he had septic shock and cardiac arrest caused by aspiration pneumonia, as well as, encephalopathy following cardiopulmonary resuscitation. At this event, the diagnosis of MRCD was achieved by liver biopsy. Since the age of 4 years, he has had repeated fUTI. VCUG confirmed the bladder deformity and right VUR. He underwent vesico-cutaneostomy at the age of 6 years. The postoperative course was uneventful. No recurrence of UTI was observed at the one-year follow-up.

Small renal cell carcinoma with metastases is rare; thus, to the best of our knowledge, this is the first case of synchronous metastasis to the ipsilateral perirenal fat.

A 70-year-old man visited our hospital because of early gastric carcinoma. Contrast-enhanced computed tomography revealed a right renal tumor and two small nodules in the ipsilateral perirenal fat. The renal tumor was 3 cm in diameter and consistent with clear cell renal cell carcinoma. The enhancement pattern of the nodules was similar to that of the renal tumor, we diagnosed cT1aN0M1. Transperitoneal laparoscopic radical nephrectomy of the right kidney was performed. Postoperative pathological analysis showed clear cell renal cell carcinoma of the right kidney, pT1a, G2>1, INFa, v0, ly0, and two nodules in ipsilateral perirenal fat had comparable pathological findings. At 11th month of postoperative follow-up, CT revealed multiple nodules in the left pleura. Pembrolizumab plus axitinib was administered every 3 weeks. Multiple pleural metastases disappeared 3 months after the therapy; however, grade 2 (CTCAE v5.0) diarrhea and hoarseness emerged. Owing to the persistence of symptoms despite axitinib cessation, pembrolizumab was also discontinued. After 2 months of withdrawal, the patient's symptoms resolved spontaneously. After consultation with the patient, he was followed up with no further treatment. He is alive with no evidence of recurrence 36 months after surgery.