Journal Reviews
What are the long-term outcomes of TOT and TVT procedures?
This is a systematic review between 2000 and 2016 evaluating the efficacy and safety of midurethral sling (MUS) procedures in women. Studies were included if the follow-up data was five years or more. Objective cure rates showed no significant difference...
Clean catch urine from babies – the ‘quick wee method’
Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are common in children and babies and can lead to urosepsis, renal scarring and chronic kidney disease. As per American Academy of Pediatrics guidelines, urine samples are a must in febrile / unwell infants even if...
Bedside teaching
All of us are involved in the teaching and training of under or postgraduate medical students and nurses. This article gives a patient’s perspective and thoughts on being an ‘interesting’ patient within a ward or clinic setting. Important points to...
Predictors of vaginal mesh exposure after mid-urethral sling placement
Vaginal mesh exposure following mid-urethral sling (MUS) insertion can be a difficult complication to treat. The aim of this study was to identify possible risk factors in patients who had unfortunately developed vaginal mesh exposure following MUS surgery. This was...
Renal fossa recurrence after nephrectomy for renal cell carcinoma
This paper is an analysis of 36 years of radical nephrectomy for renal cell carcinoma in the Mayo Clinic (1970-2006). In particular, it contains an analysis of the risk of renal fossa recurrence after nephrectomy (partial nephrectomies are not included)...
Urology patient assessment – importance of holistic approach – new paradigm
Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) seems to affect 30% of the general population above 65 and its presence has a wide range of significance. This is a prospective single centre study to look at MCI in adult urological patients above 18...
Should maximal urethral closure pressure be performed before mid-urethral sling surgery for stress incontinence?
Maximum urethral closure pressure (MUCP) is a means of trying to provide an objective assessment of urethral integrity. In some centres it is used as a tool to help predict outcomes after mid-urethral sling (MUS) placement. The authors propose that...
Radiological investigation of haematuria in 2016
This paper summarises the current evidence for and use of various imaging modalities for investigating haematuria. The following investigations are reviewed: Intravenous urogram (IVU) – the number of centres still using IVU is decreasing. IVU is cheaper and has less...
Sepsis and antibiotics: the debate goes on
Sepsis statistics are staggering around the world. The UK Sepsis Trust estimates that there are around 150,000 cases of sepsis in the UK every year and it kills 44,000 patients per year. There are many different definitions and criteria; in...
Recurrent urinary tract infections in women
This review article defined women who had recurrent urinary tract infections (UTIs) as having either ≥ two episodes in the last six months or ≥ three episodes in the last 12 months. Using a number of databases, including the Cochrane...
RN or PN for small RCCs – the debate continues
This is a retrospective study to evaluate kidney function and overall survival (OS) in patients who underwent partial nephrectomy (PN) and radical nephrectomy (RN) for RCCs <4cm. They looked at 2110 patients who underwent RN/PN for T1a renal cell carcinomas...
Intermittent self-catheterisation
Intermittent self-catheterisation (ISC) is used in everyday practice for bladder dysfunction. This study from Southampton, UK presents a Cochrane review of different catheter designs, user satisfaction and incidence of urinary tract infection (UTI), etc. The following factors were looked at:...