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COVID-19: cancer and corticosteroids

Under the prevailing COVID-19 crisis, this article is well worth reading. The current World Health Organization (WHO) guidance is not to start steroids in cancer cases, but there is no clear evidence of risks with steroids in cancer patients having...

Call for standardised reporting of adverse events

This article will be of immense benefit to all of us involved in mortality and morbidity meetings and Clinical Governance, especially registrars and junior members of the team. The authors present data from the UK, USA and Europe. In prostate...

Urinary diversion and infections

This article will be of interest to colleagues undertaking reconstructive surgery. Urinary diversions have been performed for decades. Common indications are muscle-invasive bladder cancer, neurological disorders, inflammatory conditions and congenital malformation. The diversions could be continent or non-continent. Complications due...

Vitamin D and LUTS

Lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) and vitamin D deficiency have been thought to be connected, but the association has been inconsistent. Vitamin D receptors have been identified in the bladder, prostate and pelvic floor muscles, and it has been linked...

Fear and frustration among women with recurrent UTIs

The risk of a women developing a urinary tract infection in her lifetime is over 50%, approximately 25% of which become recurrent (rUTIs). This study examined the viewpoints of women with rUTIs through six focus groups at a tertiary centre...

Standard versus expanded cultures to diagnose UTIs in women

Clinicians are well aware of the limitations of the so-called Kass criteria applied to standard urine culture (SUC) techniques as well as the limitations of empiric antibiotic prescribing for symptoms that are known to overlap with chronic conditions such as...

Refining management of non-visible haematuria

The optimal evaluation of non-visible haematuria (NVH) continues to be debated, with competing interests of avoidance underdiagnosis and the harms of over-testing. Current National Institute for Health & Care Excellent (NICE) guidance recommends referral for patients ≥60 years with NVH....

The urinary microbiome in IC/BPS: more complicated than we imagined

The concluding statement of this short review states, “the study of the urinary microbiome and its impact on urological disease, including IC/BPS, is in its infancy.” A lot has been said on this subject in recent years, but this, in...

Upper tract urothelial carcinoma following cystectomy

Metachronous upper tract urothelial cancer (UTUC) is encountered in about 5% of patients after radical cystectomy (RC) with a median time to diagnosis of 24-36 months after RC, and most are asymptomatic and detected by surveillance protocols. In this multivariate...

Keep an eye on Viagra™

Many of the side-effects and contra-indications of sildenafil and other phosphodiesterase 5 (PDE 5) inhibitors for erectile dysfunction have become well known to doctors and pharmacists over the years. This study from the United States collected case reports of adverse...

Botox® instillation into the bladder

Patients with refractory overactive bladder (OAB) may be offered OnabotulinumtoxinA (Botox®) as one of the third-line options. Given the invasive nature of requiring cystoscopy, injections via a needle and local anaesthesia, it would be simpler, more convenient and more accessible...

Prodromal period of Fournier’s gangrene

Necrotising soft tissue infections of the genitalia (NSTIG), commonly known as Fournier’s gangrene, is a rare but important surgical emergency associated with significant morbidity and mortality. It is estimated that every six hours of delay in surgical debridement leads to...