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Purpose: To evaluate risk factors for survival in a large international cohort of patients with primary urethral cancer (PUC)., Methods: A series of 154 patients (109 men, 45 women) were diagnosed with PUC in ten referral centers between 1993 and 2012. Kaplan-Meier analysis with log-rank test was used to investigate various potential prognostic factors for recurrence-free (RFS) and overall survival (OS). Multivariate models were constructed to evaluate independent risk factors for recurrence and death., Results: Median age at definitive treatment was 66 years (IQR 58-76). Histology was urothelial carcinoma in 72 (47 %), squamous cell carcinoma in 46 (30 %), adenocarcinoma in 17 (11 %), and mixed and other histology in 11 (7 %) and nine (6 %), respectively. A high degree of concordance between clinical and pathologic nodal staging (cN+/cN0 vs. pN+/pN0; p < 0.001) was noted. For clinical nodal staging, the corresponding sensitivity, specificity, and overall accuracy for predicting pathologic nodal stage were 92.8, 92.3, and 92.4 %, respectively. In multivariable Cox-regression analysis for patients staged cM0 at initial diagnosis, RFS was significantly associated with clinical nodal stage (p < 0.001), tumor location (p < 0.001), and age (p = 0.001), whereas clinical nodal stage was the only independent predictor for OS (p = 0.026)., Conclusions: These data suggest that clinical nodal stage is a critical parameter for outcomes in PUC.

Purpose: Functional status and physical independence play a key role in terms of quality of life, access to treatment, and continuity of care. Surgery, a central component of cancer treatments, leads to detrimental effects on functional capacity, which can be peculiarly relevant in vulnerable patients undergoing major procedures. Prehabilitation is a multidisciplinary intervention that uses the preoperative period to prevent or attenuate treatment-related functional decline and its subsequent consequences. This paper narratively reviews the rationale and the evidence of prehabilitation for uro-oncologic surgery. Methods: A narrative review was conducted in August 2020, aiming to: (1) identify and discuss the impact of modifiable determinants of postoperative outcomes in urology and (2) review randomized controlled trials (RCT) exploring the role of preoperative exercise, nutrition, and psychological interventions in uro-oncologic surgery. Results: Eight RCTs on preoperative conditioning interventions met the inclusion criteria, focusing on radical cystectomy for bladder cancer (RC) and radical prostatectomy for prostate cancer (RP). There is strong evidence that poor physical, nutritional and psychosocial status negatively impacts on surgical outcomes. Single modality interventions, such as preoperative exercise or nutrition alone, had no effect on 'traditional' surgical outcomes as length of stay or complication. However, multimodal approaches targeting postoperative functional status have shown to be effective and safe. Conclusion: There is initial evidence on the effectiveness and safety of multimodal prehabilitation in preserving functional capacity following RC and RP. However, to date, outcomes such as complications and length of stay seem to be not affected by prehabilitation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To validate a German translation of the convalescence and recovery evaluation (CARE) as an electronic patient-reported outcome measure (ePROM) and use it to assess recovery after major urological surgery. Methods: The CARE questionnaire was provided to patients scheduled for major urological surgery preoperatively, at discharge and 6 weeks postoperatively, using an ePROM system. Cronbach's alpha, inter-scale correlations and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) were used to validate the translation. Mixed linear regression models were used to identify factors influencing CARE results, and a multivariable logistic regression analysis was done to determine the predictive value of CARE results on quality of life (QoL). Results: A total of 283 patients undergoing prostatectomy (n = 146, 51%), partial/radical nephrectomy (n = 70, 25%) or cystectomy (n = 67, 24%) responded to the survey. Internal consistency was high (α = 0.649–0.920) and the CFA showed a factor loading > 0.5 in 17/27 items. Significant main effects were found for the time of survey and type of surgery, while a time by type interaction was only found for the gastrointestinal subscale ( χ (4) 2 = 30.37, p < 0.0001) and the total CARE score (TCS) ( χ (4) 2 = 13.47, p = 0.009) for cystectomy patients, meaning a greater score decrease at discharge and lower level of recovery at follow-up. Complications demonstrated a significant negative effect on the TCS ( χ (2) 2 = 8.61, p = 0.014). A high TCS at discharge was an independent predictor of a high QLQ-C30 QoL score at follow-up (OR = 5.26, 95%-CI 1.42–19.37, p = 0.013). Conclusion: This German translation of the CARE can serve as a valid ePROM to measure recovery and predict QoL after major urological surgery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To assess and report the feasibility and efficacy of electronic follow-up in patients after mid-urethral sling (MUS) operation. Methods: All 235 patients after MUS operation for stress urinary incontinence (SUI) were divided into the WeChat follow-up (WFU) and the outpatient follow-up (OFU) groups. Patients completed electronic or paper-validated questionnaires. Demographic and clinical characteristics, questionnaire scores, loss to follow-up rate, patient satisfaction, and complications were compared and analyzed. Results: Overall, 189 patients completed the follow-up assessment. The OFU group showed a higher rate of loss to follow-up (25.6% vs. 13.2%, p = 0.016). The mean preoperative International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire-Urinary Incontinence Short Form (ICIQ-UI SF) scores were 18.22 ± 2.64 and 18.06 ± 2.75 in the WFU and OFU groups, respectively (p = 0.672). The mean postoperative ICIQ-UI SF scores were 3.70 ± 1.65 and 3.86 ± 1.48, respectively (p = 0.489). There were 84.8% of WFU patients and 80% of OFU patients reported "very much better" or "much better" on the Patient Global Impression of Improvement (PGI-I) scale (p = 0.381). Patient satisfaction rate was higher in the WFU group than in the OFU group (87.9% vs. 74.4%, p = 0.018). Seventeen patients reported postoperative complications (9 and 8 patients in the WFU and OFU groups, respectively, p = 0.961). Conclusions: It appears that electronic follow-up using a mobile phone application is feasible and efficient for patients after MUS operation, and may be associated with improved rates of satisfaction and retention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To compare the perioperative outcomes associated with laser enucleation of the prostate (LEP) and transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP) using a national database. Methods: The American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program database was reviewed for patients who underwent TURP or LEP from 2008 to 2016. Baseline demographics, comorbidities, and predisposition to bleeding were compared between TURP and LEP. The 30-day perioperative outcomes including operative time, length of hospital stay (LOS), return to the operating room (OR), bleeding requiring transfusion, and organ system-specific complications were compared between the procedures. A multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed, adjusting for the type of surgery and other covariates. Results: The series included 37,577 TURP and 2869 LEP procedures. While TURP was associated with a shorter operative time (55.20 ± 37.80 min) than LEP (102.80 ± 62.30 min), the latter was associated with a shorter hospital stay (1.29 ± 2.73 days) than TURP (2.05 ± 5.20 days). Compared to TURP, LEP had 0.52 (0.47–0.58) times the odds of a LOS > 1 day and 0.67 (0.54–0.83) times the odds of developing urinary tract infections. Nevertheless, no difference was found for other postoperative complications, need for transfusion, and return to OR. Conclusion: Real-life data from a large national database confirmed that LEP is a safe and reproducible procedure to treat benign prostatic obstruction. Compared to TURP, LEP was associated with a lower rate of infectious complications and a shorter LOS at the expense of an increased operative time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: In this study, we investigate the effect of trainee involvement on surgical performance, as measured by automated performance metrics (APMs), and outcomes after robot-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP). Methods: We compared APMs (instrument tracking, EndoWrist® articulation, and system events data) and clinical outcomes for cases with varying resident involvement. Four of 12 standardized RARP steps were designated critical ("cardinal") steps. Comparison 1: cases where the attending surgeon performed all four cardinal steps (Group A) and cases where a trainee was involved in at least one cardinal step (Group B). Comparison 2, where Group A is split into Groups C and D: cases where attending performs the whole case (Group C) vs. cases where a trainee performed at least one non-cardinal step (Group D). Mann–Whitney U and Chi-squared tests were used for comparisons. Results: Comparison 1 showed significant differences in APM profiles including camera movement time, third instrument usage, dominant instrument moving time, velocity, articulation, as well as non-dominant instrument moving time and articulation (all favoring Group A p < 0.05). There was a significant difference in re-admission rates (10.9% in Group A vs 0% in Group B, p < 0.02), but not for post-operative outcomes. Comparison 2 demonstrated a significant difference in dominant instrument articulation (p < 0.05) but not in post-operative outcomes. Conclusions: Trainee involvement in RARP is safe. The degree of trainee involvement does not significantly affect major clinical outcomes. APM profiles are less efficient when trainees perform at least one cardinal step but not during non-cardinal steps. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To perform a cumulative analysis of the current evidence on the surgical and functional outcomes of bipolar endoscopic enucleation of the prostate (b-EEP) versus bipolar transurethral resection of the prostate (b-TURP). Methods: A systematic review of the literature was performed on PubMed, Ovid®, and Scopus® according to Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-analysis Statement (PRISMA Statement). The meta-analysis was conducted using the Review Manager 5.3 software. Parameters of interest were surgical and functional outcomes. Weighted mean difference, and odds ratio with 95% confidence interval were calculated for continuous and binary variables, respectively. Pooled estimates were calculated using the random-effect model. Results: Fourteen comparative studies were included. No statistically significant difference in terms of overall baseline characteristics was found. b-EEP had higher amount of resected tissue (p < 0.0001), shorter catheter time (p = 0.006), lower Hb drop (p = 0.03), and shorter length of stay (p < 0.0001). Equally, overall post-operative complications were lower (p = 0.01) as well as short (p = 0.04), and long-term complication rate (p = 0.04). There was higher re-intervention rate in the b-TURP group (p = 0.02) whereas b-EEP group had smaller residual prostate volume (p = 0.03), and lower post-operative PSA values (p < 0.00001). At long term, b-EEP presented lower IPSS (p = 0.04), higher Qmax (p = 0.002), and lower PVR (p < 0.00001). Conclusions: b-EEP is an effective and safe surgical treatment for BPO. This procedure might offer several advantages over standard b-TURP, including the resection of a larger amount of tissue within the same operative time, shorter hospitalization, lower risk of complications, and lower re-intervention rate. This was submitted to PROSPERO registry: CRD42019126748. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To characterize the current evaluation, and efficacy of treatments in patients with the primary complaint of nocturia. Methods: A retrospective chart review was performed of new patient encounters seen in a tertiary urology practice from May 2010 to September 2016 with the primary diagnosis of nocturia (ICD-9 788.43 and ICD-10 R35.1). Results: 595 patients were identified. 403 met inclusion criteria. The median patient reported that nocturia episodes were 4 (1–20). 192 patients (48%) reported previous treatment for nocturia. After the index visit, a bladder diary (BD) was utilized in 50% of patients, with a 62% (n = 124) completion rate at follow-up visit. On BD analysis, the most common etiologies of nocturia were nocturnal polyuria 76% (n = 90) and overactive bladder in 21% (n = 26). Patient reported improvement with therapy after BD completion was 46% (n = 34), similar to patients without voiding diaries (43% improvement, n = 153). Anticholinergics and alpha blockers were the most commonly recommended drug, but no specific medication was associated with nocturia improvement. Oral desmopressin was used in 5% of patients. Conclusion: Nocturia is a common condition and very commonly patients have sought treatment prior to presentation. Bladder diaries were recommended to half of the patients. Patient reported that improvement did not seem to correlate with completion of a bladder diary. Though most patients had NP the use of desmopressin was very low. Current treatments used in managing nocturia may lack efficacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]