Journal Reviews
Can transcutaneous peroneal nerve stimulation treat OAB?
The peroneal nerve follows sacral, pudendal, and tibial nerves as a target for overactive bladder (OAB) treatment. This multicentre prospective randomised RCT compared a transcutaneous electrical neuromodulation system (eTNM) at-home treatment once daily for 30 minutes to solifenacin 5mg once...
Catheter-free wireless ambulatory bladder pressure monitor
Urodynamics (UDS) is a useful physiological test for the assessment of a range of lower urinary tract disorders. A key limitation of standard UDS is its inability to record measurements of bladder pressure, flow, etc. in real-time situations and the...
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...
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...
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...
Homo digitalis during COVID-19?
The COVID-19 pandemic has affected all aspects of our lives. We have seen huge changes in the health service, medical practice and hospital working. Many urology meetings – national and international – were cancelled and seminars and courses have become...
Urinary tuberculosis and the busy urologist!
This article is a very good read for any busy urologist. When in medical school, we were taught that tuberculosis (TB) was rare in the UK and other developed countries. We have come full circle; now there are increasing cases...
Cardiac failure and medical therapy for LUTS / BPH
Alpha blockers (AB), 5-alpha reductase inhibitors (5-ARI) and combination therapy are widely prescribed for lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) considered consequent to prostatic enlargement and are the mainstay of first-line therapy. This retrospective interrogation of a large population-based dataset of...
Male LUTS: where do we stand?
Patients’ preferences and expectations depend on cultural, geographical, economic and national factors. Data from different countries should be interpreted with caution when applied to the individual patient. Patients rarely seek help for benign prostatic obstruction (BPO) unless urinary retention occurs,...
