Journal Reviews
Prostatic urethral lift provides good alternative to TURP for men with LUTS
Lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) due to prostatic enlargement resulting in bladder outflow obstruction are common. Transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP) remains the gold standard in operative management, however it is not without its risks. In this multicentre European...
Role of emergency ureteroscopy in the management of ureteric stones
Emergency ureteroscopy for all acute stone patients is not widespread in the UK but this is not the case elsewhere. In Auckland, New Zealand, it is commonly carried out in the emergency setting to reduce pressure on elective lists and...
Day-case monopolar and bipolar transurethral resection of the prostate
The aim of this study was to assess the safety and efficacy of performing monopolar (mTURP) and bipolar transurethral resection of prostate (bTURP) as a day-case. This was a prospective two-centre study. One centre performed day-case mTURP (group M) and...
Cystolithotripsy using the holmium laser: evolving uses for the laser lithotrite
This small prospective study examined 20 patients who were undergoing laser cystolithotripsy for bladder stones. Laser lithotripsy was performed using either a 365 or 550µm holmium:YAG laser fibre with a power setting of 1.0J and a frequency of 10Hz. Stone...
SUSPEND suspended MET
This review is on the recent groundbreaking evidence on medical expulsive therapy (MET). MET using alpha adrenergic blockers (like tamsulosin) are in regular clinical practice. Even though it is an off label prescription, it is well accepted and practised world...
Tackling stones in children: is it difficult to crack on?
The incidence of stone disease in the paediatric population has been increasing worldwide, particularly for the adolescent age group (12–17 years of age). In this article the authors discussed the evolutions of percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL) and ureteroscopy (URS) in children....
Impact of case volume on outcomes of ureteroscopy for ureteral stones
With the ever-increasing focus on patient safety, centralisation of services for major procedures is becoming more common. Using data from the Clinical Research Office of the Endourological Society (CROES) Ureteroscopy Global Study database, a prospective observational multicentre study created to...
CRP to predict the need for surgical intervention in acute renal colic
A previous paper has suggested that C-reactive protein (CRP) is a useful serum marker for determining the likelihood of a patient with renal colic requiring surgical intervention, the cut-off level being >28mg/l (specificity 88.9%, sensitivity 75.8%). This prospective observational study...
Efficacy of flexible ureteroscopy and laser lithotripsy for lower pole renal calculi
The management of lower pole renal stones (LPS) is often difficult. Extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL), flexible ureterorenoscopy (fURS) and percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL) are all potential options with potential benefits and disadvantages. In order to assess the success of fURS...
Tamsulosin and spontaneous passage of ureteral stones in children
This was a retrospective analysis of data for five years from four institutions comparing stone passage rates in children with ureteric stones ≤10mm, aged 2-18, treated with tamsulosin vs. analgesia alone. The study identified 449 children, of whom 334 were...
Thiazide diuretic prophylaxis for kidney stones and the risk of diabetes mellitus
Thiazide diuretics have been used to reduce calcium nephrolithiasis recurrence as it is tolerated well, inexpensive and reduces calcium excretion in urine. It has been linked with increased risk of diabetes mellitus (DM) in the presence of hypertension (ALLHAT study),...
Durability and complications of photoselective vaporisation of the prostate with GreenLightTM
Alternatives to the standard transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP) in the management of bladder outflow obstruction due to prostatic hypertrophy are becoming more common. In this retrospective case series, the outcomes of 117 patients undergoing GreenLightTM lithium triborate photoselective...
