Features
COVID-19 Useful Resources
This list will be updated as new sources of information emerge – let us know if there’s any resources we should be listing here by emailing jennifer@pinpoint-scotland.com
COVID-19 Message from the editor
I suspect, years from now, we are going to look back at this time and understand how we lived through a moment in history that threatened the very fabric of our lives. Looking at images of empty streets across the...
Benign prostatic hyperplasia: what are the benefits and harms of various surgical management options?
Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is characterised by stromal and epithelial prostatic cell hyperplasia. The enlarged prostate may be associated with voiding and storage lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS). These have been predominantly attributed to bladder outlet obstruction (BOO), assumed to...
Patient decision aids in the management of stress urinary incontinence
Urinary incontinence is a common condition faced by up to 20-50% of women, which impairs quality of life and poses a significant socioeconomic burden to both the individual women involved and more widely to the NHS [1]. The overall cost...
Pyonephrosis: is the kidney always doomed?
Pyonephrosis (Greek pyon ‘pus’ + nephros ‘kidney’) is defined in Campbell-Walsh Urology [1] as an infected hydro-nephrosis associated with suppurative destruction of the renal parenchyma which results in total or near total loss of renal function. The true incidence of...
Ketamine uropathy – an update
The first two case series that documented the association between urinary tract damage and recreational ketamine use were published 12 years ago [1,2]. Since then ketamine has maintained a controversial profile as an essential medication of expanding utility but with...
Onco-fertility: a review
Subfertility or infertility is a major problem affecting men diagnosed with testicular cancer (TC) either due to the disease itself [1], or as a result of management [2]. TC is the most prevalent cancer affecting men of reproductive age [3]....
MRI screening for prostate cancer: a step towards a ‘prostagram’
The UK National Screening Committee has been calling for further research into alternative screening tests for prostate cancer. The committee decided against prostate cancer screening using prostate specific antigen (PSA) testing on the basis that “PSA is still a poor...
Prostate cancer nurse specialist shortage: a view from the coal face
Prostate Cancer UK recently reported that there is an impending crisis for men with prostate cancer, simply because the number of nurse specialists available is insufficient for their needs [1]. Background As has been widely reported, the incidence of prostate...
Burnout: an increasing problem in urology
“What we mean, man,” said Chuck forcefully, “is this: how can we care for patients if nobody cares for us?” – Samuel Shem, The House of God, 1978. Samuel Shem’s (Steven Bergman, MD) satirical novel The House of God, has...
Mechanisms and prevention of catheterisation associated urethral injury (CAUI)
Urethral catheterisation is a common procedure performed by health professionals across different grades and specialties in a variety of clinical settings. An estimated 15-25% of hospitalised patients have a urinary catheter inserted during their inpatient stay and up to 13%...
PREDICT Prostate – individualised, evidence-based estimates of survival and treatment benefit
Earlier this year ‘PREDICT Prostate’ was launched online alongside a high-profile publication in PLOS Medicine. The prognostic model and decision-aid has been designed to inform treatment decision-making among men newly diagnosed with non-metastatic prostate cancer. David Thurtle and Vincent Gnanapragasam...
