Journal Reviews
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...
‘Born in the USA’ – neonatal circumcision
In 2006, the British Association of Paediatric Urologists (BAPU) published a statement paper on the management of foreskin conditions (www.baps.org.uk/resources/management-foreskin-conditions). Non-therapeutic circumcisions (those to comply with religious or cultural practices) are not uniformly available on the NHS. Circumcisions for medical...
Urinary frequency and COVID-19: is there a missing link?
The current COVID pandemic has been a worldwide challenge for over a year. It can affect an individual in various ways. According to the World Health Organization, the classical signs are dry cough, fever and shortness of breath. In addition,...
Psychosocial and sexual outcomes after surgery for proximal hypospadias
Andersson et al. report the psychosocial and sexual outcomes for adolescents treated previously for proximal hypospadias. They hypothesised outcomes would be negatively affected compared to patients with distal hypospadias or age-matched controls (Swedish population registry). Participants answered a web-based questionnaire...
Bladder perforation after augmentation cystoplasty
Delayed bladder perforation is well recognised after augmentation cystoplasty (5-13% of patients) and adult urologists need to be aware of this and identify the best treatment at the time. Mortality rates and re-perforation rates can be up to 25% and...
Transfer to tertiary paediatric hospitals for patients with testicular torsion
Although this articles comes from a tertiary centre in Columbus, USA, there are similarities with the current controversies in the UK. The authors carried out a five-year retrospective review looking at the surgical transfer of 125 patients (mean age 13.4,...
Sacral agenesis and neurogenic bladder: long-term outcomes of bladder and kidney function
These authors looked at single institution outcomes for sacral agenesis (without spina bifida) with reference to renal function and bladder function. All had urodynamics either at diagnosis (56%) or soon after. Of 43 patients (23 female, 20 male), 37 had...
Effect of collimation on radiation dose during ureteroscopy
Over 60,000 ureteroscopies are performed annually in the UK. During these procedures radiation is used and there are concerns regarding the cumulative dose during a surgeon’s career. Common ways to minimise the dose to the theatre team are wearing lead...
Stepwise voltage ramping causes less renal haematomas than fixed maximal voltage ESWL
Extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL) remains the recommended first line treatment for stones <2cm in the renal pelvis and upper or mid-pole calyces (Türk C, Knoll T, Petrik A, et al. European Association of Urology Guidelines on Urolithiasis. 2014). There...
Nocturia: the debate goes on
This study is from Ghent, Belgium. Nocturia is one of the most bothersome lower urinary tract symptoms affecting both men and women. Key factors to consider in evaluating are nocturnal polyuria (NP) and reduced bladder capacity. NP with low osmolality...
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....
Cryotherapy for small renal masses: better than surveillance?
With the rapid rise in incidental small renal mass detection, some of which have malignant potential, comes the need to either survey or treat these masses safely and with minimal morbidity. This large series of 147 patients with 171 masses,...
