Journal Reviews
CROWN initiative – what is it about?
The editors of around 50 journals related to women’s health have joined forces to support the CROWN initiative (core outcomes in women’s health). The aim is to standardise the collection of outcomes for all trials in a specific dataset in...
RARP – novel uroflow stop test
More and more centres are doing robotic assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP) surgery for cancer of the prostate .This study from Montreal, Canada describes a simple and novel test to predict recovery of urinary continence after RARP. The uroflow stop test...
PFMT in males
Pelvic floor muscle training (PFMT) has been described since ancient times in Rome but Kegel popularised it to improve sexual and urinary health after childbirth. In the paediatric population, there is a paradigm shift towards biofeedback-based PFMT for lower urinary...
Near-infrared fluorescence in robotic surgery
This is a systematic review and critical analysis of the current evidence on the applications of near-infrared fluorescence (NIRF) in robotic urologic surgery. It uses indocyanine green (ICG), a sterile water-soluble dye which has been tested in various fields. In...
Paediatric chronic orchalgia
Testicular or scrotal / groin pain is common in children and often there is no apparent cause. This paper describes the authors’ experience over 10 years of boys >10 years seeking medical attention with testicular pain without anatomical abnormality or...
Buccal grafts for urethroplasty in pre-pubertal boys
Buccal mucosa graft (BMG) is often used as the primary graft in complex hypospadias surgery. It is not clear what the response of this BMG is during puberty androgen surge and whether or not differential penile growth occurs with secondary...
Prostate alpha-1 receptors: what is new?
This article from the west of Germany will be of interest to many of us who use alpha-blockers for bladder outflow symptoms. The classic model of understanding of alpha receptors has been challenged recently. Further models have been identified, including...
IC and risk of CHD
Bladder pain syndrome / interstitial cystitis (BPS/IC) is a chronic, multifactorial and relapsing condition. Aetiology includes: inflammation, allergic, neuropathic, auto immune, vascular factors, etc. This study from Taiwan aimed to investigate the risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) among IC...
Impact of prostatic apex in continence after RARP
This article investigates the impact of prostatic apical shape from preoperative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) on early recovery of urinary continence after robot-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP). It is a retrospective study of 1011 patients at a tertiary centre. Patients were...
Androgen insensitivity in patients with proximal hypospadias
A number of surgeons use preoperative androgen stimulation for a period of time prior to hypospadias surgery. The aim is to increase glans circumference, penile length and improve prepucial vascularisation pre-surgery. Data confirming the results of these aims is scarce....
TPTNS: evaluation of a therapeutic option in the management of anticholinergic refractory overactive bladder
This is a prospective study evaluating the tolerability and efficacy of transcutaneous posterior tibial nerve stimulation (TPTNS) in patients with urodynamically proven overactive bladder (OAB), who have failed anticholinergic treatment. Forty-three patients were studied and followed up over a period...
Oestrogens and OAB
This is a multicentre study from Europe. The female genitals and lower urinary tract have a common embryological origin arising from urogenital sinus. Therefore, both could be sensitive to female sex steroid hormones. Oestrogens and progesterone receptors have been demonstrated...
