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Introduction To provide a comprehensive review of survey trends in urology, aiming to provide insight into changes in publication in the new millennium. Surveys in healthcare allow for a better understanding of the knowledge, attitudes, and practice patterns as well as gaps in healthcare systems. Material and methods A comprehensive review of all “surveys in urology answered by urologists” was performed through the PubMed and Scopus databases, according to the SPICE framework. Included surveys were divided according to the subject: “Uro-oncology”, “Urolithiasis”, “Mental health” “Resident training”, and “Miscellaneous”. Publications were then divided into 2 main periods: Period-1 (2000–2011) and Period-2 (2012–2023). Results A total of 361 surveys have been published since 2000, with a significant overall increasing trend in the recent decade (p <0.001). A significantly increasing focus is seen for publications on resident training (n = 86; +660%; p = 0.003), mental health (n = 31; +650%; p = 0.001), urolithiasis (n = 40; +371%; p = 0.002), and uro-oncology (n = 94; +230%, p ≤0.001). In subanalysis, the largest increase in publications was noted for surveys on radical prostatectomy (+175%, p = 0.024), surgical treatment of urolithiasis (+320%, p = 0.040), quality of resident education (+483%, p <0.001), and personal satisfaction with resident training (+500%, p = 0.005). Conclusions Over the decades, surveys have served as an effective interactive tool for urologists to engage and investigate different aspects of practice and training across sub-specialties. In modern times, better evaluation tools integrated with AI will provide a bigger platform for urologists to use surveys as part of their armamentarium to address and evaluate not only clinical practices but also emotional challenges, training needs, and inequalities that hinder progress in urology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction We aimed to review the outcomes of endoscopic combined intrarenal surgery (ECIRS) as compared to conventional percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL) for kidney stones. Material and methods We performed a systematic literature review using MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Cochrane Central Controlled Register of Trials. We included all studies comparing ECIRS and conventional PCNL. Surgical time, hemoglobin drop, and postoperative stay were pooled using the inverse variance of the mean difference (MD) with a random effect, 95% confidence intervals (CI), and p-values. Complications, stone-free rate, and retreatment were assessed using Cochran-Mantel-Haenszel method with random effect model and expressed as odds ratio (OR), 95% CI, and p-values. Results A total of 17 studies were included. Surgical time and mean postoperative length did not significantly differ between the groups (MD-8.39 minutes 95%CI -21.30, 4.53, p = 0.20; 5.09 days 95%CI -19.51, 29.69, p = 0.69). Mean hemoglobin drop was significantly lower in the ECIRS group (MD-0.56 g/dl 95%CI -1.08, -0.05, p = 0.03), while blood transfusion rate did not differ between the two groups (OR 0.88 95%CI 0.64, 1.23, p = 0.15). While the incidence of postoperative sepsis did not differ between the two groups (OR 0.52 95% CI 0.17, 1.59, p = 0.25), the incidence of postoperative fever was lower in the ECIRS group but the difference was not significant (OR 0.61 95%CI 0.35, 1.06, p = 0.08). The stone-free rate was significantly higher in the PCNL group (OR 2.52 95%CI 1.64, 3.90, p <0.0001) and the retreatment rate was lower in the ECIRS group (OR 0.34 95%CI 0.14, 0.87, p = 0.002). Conclusions ECIRS showed shorter operative time, lower complication rate, and retreatment compared to PCNL. Conventional PCNL showed a higher stone-free rate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This collection includes some unusual cases and how they were diagnosed and treated. Case 1: A case of a patient with primary hyperthyroidism presenting with a submucosal ureteral stone after endoscopic lithotripsy was described. After multiple endoscopic treatment, the stone was successfully removed by open ureterolithotomy recovering ureteral patency and normal renal function. Case 2: A case of burned-out testicular cancer with atypical lymphatic spread (stage II A) was presented. After right orchiectomy and complete remission of tumor markers, due to atypical metastases location and uncertain histology, the patient was treated with systemic therapy based on bleomycin, etoposide and cisplatin (PEB). At re-staging after chemotherapy computed tomography showed reduction of all node metastases and an observation protocol was proposed. Case 3: A patient was readmitted to hospital after 12 days from an uneventful Robot-Assisted Radical Prostatectomy (RARP) for prostate cancer due to lower abdominal pain plus abdominal distension, nausea and constipation not responsive to medical therapy. Computed Tomography showed colon and small bowel dilatation without any evidence of anatomical or mechanical obstruction. Laparoscopic abdominal exploration confirmed bowel distension without evidence of obstructing lesions. Ogilvie’s Syndrome or acute colonic pseudo-obstruction (ACPO) was diagnosed. The patient fully recovered and was discharged six days after the procedure. Case 4: A case of recurrent Acute Idiopathic Scrotal Edema (AISE) was diagnosed on clinical signs together with the decisive help of pathognomonic ultrasound findings as the “fountain sign”. Case 5: Small bilateral testicular nodules were diagnosed in a 30-years old patient undergoing scrotal ultrasound in follow up of acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Ultrasound guided testis sparing surgery was performed demonstrating Leydig cell tumors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]