Journal Reviews
Abiraterone plus prednisone in metastatic, castration-sensitive prostate cancer
Abiraterone acetate, the prodrug of abiraterone, blocks endogenous androgen synthesis by inhibiting cytochrome p-450c17, a critical enzyme in androgen biosynthesis. Its active D4A metabolite also has anti-tumour effects through possibly multiple mechanisms. 3-5% of men diagnosed with prostate cancer in...
Long-term oncologic outcomes of salvage cryoablation for rrPC
Of patients undergoing radiotherapy (RT) for prostate cancer (PC), at least 15-20% will experience recurrence. Although salvage prostatectomy achieves durable oncological outcomes at 10 years, it is associated with significantly high morbidity. Thus, the majority of men with radio-recurrent prostate...
Mindfulness-based stress reduction as a novel treatment for IC/PBS
Interstitial cystitis / painful bladder syndrome (IC / PBS) is not fully understood and is associated with significant morbidity. The objective of this study was to provide initial data to evaluate mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) as a treatment for IC...
Ten years of experience with intravesical and intrasphincteric botulinum toxin A in children
This is one of the longest follow-up studies of botulinum toxin A usage in children with bladder dysfunction in the paediatric literature. Fifty-three children had Botox® (Allergan) injected for a variety of reasons (spina bifida – 18, acquired cord injury...
How successful is the transition to adult urology care in spina bifida?
These authors from Indianapolis, USA, aimed to assess rates and predictors of successful transition into adult care of spina bifida patients. They did this by a retrospective review of 77 patients discharged from a multidisciplinary paediatric clinic at a mean...
The origins of urinary stone disease
This is a descriptive paper of micro CT scans of tubular mineralisation in 12 nephrectomy specimens. The authors noted that: in the small number of specimens examined, mineralisation started in the outer medulla and appeared to proceed distally along the...
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...
BAPU consensus statement on the management of the neuropathic bladder
The summary of this paper states that a “consensus statement is not a guideline nor a method with which to establish what is best practice. It is a way of surveying practice and providing a benchmark for others to compare...
Emergency department revisits for patients with ureteral stones
The authors aimed to identify clinical predictors for emergency department (ED) revisits in patients diagnosed with ureteral stones. Patients presenting between 2010 and 2013 were included. Those who were admitted at the initial presentation were excluded. CT scans were reviewed...
Prognostic impact of preoperative neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio after radical prostatectomy
Neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio has been shown to be a prognostic factor in a number of different cancers. This is one of the largest studies to date to evaluate its effect on overall survival in patients who have undergone radical prostatectomy (RP)...
ABU joins BCG in fight against NMIBC recurrence?
The authors test a hypothesis retrospectively in two cohorts of patients with non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC), that endogenous bacteria in the bladder might exert antitumour effects, similar to live mycobacteria (BCG), through local immune-related or other mechanisms, on NMIBC...
Who should be taking care of the adolescent with testicular torsion?
From time to time (as paediatric surgeons), we receive referrals from regional hospitals to explore the testis in older boys. Given the time-critical nature of the condition, patients should benefit from assessment and surgery performed locally (when possible). Inter-hospital transfer...
