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Developing a core outcome set for male fertility trials

Advances in fertility treatment since in vitro fertilisation was pioneered by Edwards and Steptoe, cumulating in the birth of Louise Brown in 1978, have been nothing short of remarkable [1]. Since then, a myriad of treatments has been developed for...

Guide to gaining approval for a clinical study

This article focuses on gaining approval for clinical research involving NHS patients, although the principles can be applied to other types of research. It can be quite a daunting process for the uninitiated applicant. Often it can be made less...

Comedy and continence – don’t make me laugh

I’m a pelvic physiotherapist and, in a fit of temper, I wrote a comedy show about pelvic floors after having yet another woman say to me: “I’ve been leaking since my baby was born.” “How old is your baby?” “He’s...

Pelvic floor imaging – a brief synopsis

Background Pelvic floor imaging is an important part of both gastrointestinal and functional urology / urogynaecological departments. Symptoms such as obstructive defecation, incontinence and sphincter complex disorders have a significant impact on patient lifestyle and physical / mental well-being [1,2]....

Penile Mondor’s disease

Mondor’s disease is a rare, self-limiting entity characterised by subcutaneous chord like bands throughout the body. These bands arise due to phlebitis of the subcutaneous vessels. Penile Mondor’s disease (PMD) is an isolated superficial thrombophlebitis of the superficial dorsal vein...

Post-orgasmic illness syndrome

Introduction Disorders of ejaculation are a rare and poorly understood subsection of male sexual dysfunction. A paucity of evidence has hindered advances in definitions, epidemiology, pathophysiology and management. The licensing of a specific medication for premature ejaculation signalled the research...

Management of stage 1 non-seminomatous germ cell tumours

Testicular cancer (TC) is the most successfully treated solid tumour, achieving a cure rate of 90-95% [1-3]. Testicular cancer is relatively rare with an incidence of 2207 cases in the UK in 2014 [4] and yet is the most common...

Challenges of catheter associated urinary tract infection: is prevention better than cure?

Catheterisation is a common medical procedure in which a catheter (a hollow flexible tube) is inserted into the bladder in order to facilitate the drainage of urine. Catheters are usually passed into the bladder via the urethra, either to be...

Men with a susceptibility to prostate cancer: implications of ethnicity in PCa risk-prediction and diagnosis

The diagnostic and therapeutic landscapes of prostate cancer (PCa) have advanced at great pace in the past decade. However, disparities in access to care, clinical outcomes and representation in therapeutic, interventional and genomic studies continue to exist between Afro-Caribbean (AC)...

An introduction to research governance

Research is the process of acquiring new generalisable knowledge and should be fully integrated into healthcare work. There is a growing drive to encourage and further develop evidence-based practice in medicine so that staff and patients benefit from improved healthcare...