Journal Reviews
Pain relief after removal of non-obstructive renal calculi
Non-obstructing stones are often not considered to be the source of pain, and probably most are not. This is because flank pain associated with a stone is typically caused by a stone that obstructs urinary flow, which increases intraluminal pressure...
Inguinal vs. scrotal orchidopexy
Undescended testes occur in 1-3% of newborns; the prevalence is even higher in premature babies. Traditionally the surgical approach has been inguinal orchidopexy, involving two incisions – inguinal and scrotal. In 1989, Bianchi and Squire proposed single scrotal incision orchidopexy...
Onabotulinum toxin A (BTX) not helpful for chronic scrotal pain
It is refreshing to read a report on negative outcomes as it reinforces the honesty that is often lacking with the well-known publication bias in medical publications. It is also not common to come across surgical randomised controlled trials (RCTs)...
Mindfulness-based stress reduction as a novel treatment for IC/PBS
Interstitial cystitis / painful bladder syndrome (IC / PBS) is not fully understood and is associated with significant morbidity. The objective of this study was to provide initial data to evaluate mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) as a treatment for IC...
Emergency department revisits for patients with ureteral stones
The authors aimed to identify clinical predictors for emergency department (ED) revisits in patients diagnosed with ureteral stones. Patients presenting between 2010 and 2013 were included. Those who were admitted at the initial presentation were excluded. CT scans were reviewed...
How effective are intravesical therapies for bladder pain syndrome?
The objective of this study was to review the clinical efficacy of currently available products for the intravesical treatment of bladder pain syndrome (BPS) / interstitial cystitis (IC) and to assess their pharmaco-economic impact. Nineteen articles were reviewed, including five...
Do complementary therapies work in painful bladder syndrome?
The aim of this systematic review was to evaluate the effectiveness of complementary therapies in the treatment of bladder pain syndrome. An electronic search identified 1454 articles; however, after review by two independent reviewers, this was reduced to 11 articles...
Liquid paraffin versus lidocaine
Topical anaesthetics have been used in urology since 1884, when Pease described using “cocaine in a sensitive urethra with charming results”. Since 1949, 2% lidocaine has been increasingly used intraurethrally for cystoscopy and other procedures. This article is a pilot...
BPS – a diagnostic enigma
This article from a London teaching hospital presents the results of a Medline search about challenges in bladder pain syndrome. All the known definitions from the American Urological Association (AUA), European Association of Urology (EAU), etc. are given while the...
Paediatric chronic orchalgia
Testicular or scrotal / groin pain is common in children and often there is no apparent cause. This paper describes the authors’ experience over 10 years of boys >10 years seeking medical attention with testicular pain without anatomical abnormality or...
IC and risk of CHD
Bladder pain syndrome / interstitial cystitis (BPS/IC) is a chronic, multifactorial and relapsing condition. Aetiology includes: inflammation, allergic, neuropathic, auto immune, vascular factors, etc. This study from Taiwan aimed to investigate the risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) among IC...
