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PURPOSE OF REVIEW: The purpose of this review is to evaluate the risk of intraoperative aerosol viral transmission and the impact of updated COVID-19 guidelines on minimally invasive surgery (MIS) in Austria. RECENT FINDINGS: The current literature does not support the risk of intraoperative viral transmission nor does it suggest a harm of minimally invasive procedures in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, medical societies mostly adopted a precautionary approach with a focus on protective measures. Austrian surgeons considered MIS safe during the pandemic and Austria managed to keep the initial outbreak in control. Yet, MIS programs were still affected due to the postponements of elective procedures and switches to other methods by some surgeons. SUMMARY: The postponement and cancellation of MIS caused complexities in health-care delivery in Austria, whilst the evidence to substantiate this precautionary approach is missing. It must be noted, both the guidelines and our review are limited by the scarcity of evidence. In further consequence, regional factors should be considered while taking precautions. Specific studies on the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus type 2 transmission risk during MIS are urgently needed.

Purpose: to quantify and compare pre- and post-surgical incontinence pad use between men treated with radical prostatectomy (RP) for prostate cancer (PCa) and cancer-free controls, using population-based Austrian insurance claims data. Methods: Men who underwent RP for treating PCa between 2013–2015 were identified. Cancer-free men ≥45 years with and without benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH) were used as controls. Longitudinal data on ICD-diagnoses, type of surgery, prescribed incontinence pads, and hospitals’ surgery volumes were aggregated between 2011–2018 to capture pre- and up to three years post-RP follow-up. Monthly rates of pad use were calculated and compared between RP types and cancer-free controls. Results: A total of 6248 RP patients, 7158 cancer-free men with BPH, and 50,257 cancer-free men without BPH were analyzed. Comparing to pre-RP (0.03, 95%CI: 0.02–0.05), RP resulted in significantly higher rates of prescribed pads (at 3 months: 12.61, 95%CI: 11.59–13.65, 12 months: 6.71, 95%CI: 6.10–7.34, 36 months: 4.91, 95%CI: 3.76–4.62). These rates were also higher than those for cancer free controls (with BPH:0.06, 95%CI: 0.04–0.09, without BPH:0.12, 95%CI: 0.10–0.14). The rate of prescribed pads after surgery continued to decline over time and remained higher among men who underwent minimally invasive RP compared to those who underwent an open procedure. Conclusion: Despite progress in surgical techniques, post-RP incontinence remains a prevalent adverse event. The rate of pad usage steadily improved over the first three years post RP. The rate of patients with incontinence needing pads was higher among those who were treated minimally invasive compared to open approach.

Purpose of review The purpose of this article was to identify quality indicators for an optimized management of high-risk upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC) requiring radical nephroureterectomy (RNU). Recent findings RNU with bladder cuff resection is the standard treatment of high-risk UTUC. For the bladder cuff resection, two main approaches are accepted: transvesical and extravesical. Lymph node dissection following a dedicated template should be performed in all high-risk patients undergoing RNU as it improves tumour staging and possibly survival. Postoperative bladder instillation of single-dose chemotherapy should be administered after RNU to decrease the risk of intravesical tumour recurrence. Perioperative systemic chemotherapy should always be considered for advanced cancers. Although level-1 evidence is available for adjuvant platinum-based chemotherapy, neoadjuvant regimens are still being evaluated. Summary Optimal management of high-risk UTUC requires evidence-based reproducible quality indicators in order to allow guidance and frameworks for clinical practices. Adherence to quality indicators allows for the measurement and comparison of outcomes that are likely to improve prognosis. Based on the literature, we found four evidence-based accepted quality indicators that are easily implementable to improve the management of high-risk UTUC patients treated with RNU: adequate management of the distal ureter/ bladder cuff, template-based lymph node dissection, single-shot postoperative intravesical chemotherapy, and perioperative systemic treatment.

OBJECTIVE: To identify the available evidence on aerosol viral transmission risk during minimally invasive surgery (MIS) and evaluate its impact on guidelines development and clinical activity worldwide during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. METHODS: We performed a scoping review on PubMed, Cochrane, the Excerpta Medica dataBASE (EMBASE), Clinical Trial Register, and the Grey Literature Repository databases, to identify reports on viral transmission via surgical smoke or aerosolisation. A systematic review of all available national and international guidelines was also performed to report their recommendations. Additionally, a worldwide transdisciplinary survey was performed to capture the actual compliance to dedicated guidelines and their impact on MIS activity. RESULTS: Based on a selection of 17 studies, there was no evidence to support the concerns of an intraoperative viral transmission via pneumoperitoneum aerosolisation. Most national surgical and urological societies either did address this topic or referred to international guidelines. The guidelines of the American College of Surgery, the Royal College of Surgeons, and the European Association of Urology Robotic Urology Section, recommended an avoidance of MIS due to an increased risk of intraoperative aerosol-enhanced transmission. The results of the survey completed by 334 respondents, from different surgical abdominal specialties, suggested a lack of compliance with the guidelines. CONCLUSION: There seems to be a dissonance between contemporary guidelines and ongoing surgical activity, possibly due to the perceived lack of evidence. Recommendations regarding changes in clinical practice should be based on the best available research evidence and experience. A scoping review of the evidence and an assessment of the benefits and harms together with a survey showed that laparoscopic procedures do not seem to increase the risk of viral transmission. Nevertheless, the few publications and low quality of existing evidence limits the validity of the review.

PURPOSE To investigate the predictive and prognostic value of the preoperative systemic immune-inflammation index (SII) in patients undergoing radical cystectomy (RC) for clinically non-metastatic urothelial cancer of the bladder (UCB). METHODS Overall, 4,335 patients were included, and the cohort was stratified in two groups according to SII using an optimal cut-off determined by the Youden index. Uni- and multivariable logistic and Cox regression analyses were performed, and the discriminatory ability by adding SII to a reference model based on available clinicopathologic variables was assessed by area under receiver operating characteristics curves (AUC) and concordance-indices. The additional clinical net-benefit was assessed using decision curve analysis (DCA). RESULTS High SII was observed in 1879 (43%) patients. On multivariable preoperative logistic regression, high SII was associated with lymph node involvement (LNI; P = 0.004), pT3/4 disease (P

To evaluate the predictive and prognostic value of the Systemic Immune-inflammation Index (SII) in a large cohort of patients treated with radical prostatectomy (RP) for clinically non-metastatic prostate cancer (PCa).We retrospectively analyzed our multicenter database comprising 6,039 consecutive patients. The optimal preoperative SII cut-off value was assessed with the Youden index calculated on a time-dependent receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. Logistic regression and Cox regression analyses were used to investigate the association of SII with pathologic features and biochemical recurrence (BCR), respectively. The discriminatory ability of the models was evaluated by calculating the concordance-indices (C-Index). The clinical benefit of the implementation of SII in clinical decision making was assessed using decision curve analysis (DCA).Patients with high preoperative SII (≥ 620) were more likely to have adverse clinicopathologic features. On multivariable logistic regression analysis, high preoperative SII was independently associated with extracapsular extension (odds ratio [OR] 1.16, P = 0.041), non-organ confined disease (OR 1.18, P = 0.022), and upgrading at RP (OR 1.23, P0.001). We built two Cox regression models including preoperative and postoperative variables. In the preoperative multivariable model, high preoperative SII was associated with BCR (hazard ratio [HR] 1.34, 95% CI 1.15-1.55, P0.001). In the postoperative multivariable model, SII was not associated with BCR (P = 0.078). The addition of SII to established models did not improve their discriminatory ability nor did it increase the clinical net benefit on DCA.In men treated with RP for clinically nonmetastatic PCa, high preoperative SII was statistically associated with an increased risk of adverse pathologic features at RP as well as BCR. However, it did not improve the predictive accuracy and clinical value beyond that obtained by current predictive and prognostic models. SII together with a panel of complementary biomarkers is praised to help guide decision-making in clinically nonmetastatic PCa.

The purpose of this article is to review the current literature on the impact of gender on oncologic outcomes of bladder cancer (BCa).Women are more likely to experience disease recurrence, progression, and/or death across all disease states. Furthermore, women are less likely to respond to intravesical therapy for nonmuscle invasive BCa. These disparities are explained by several hypotheses such as differential exposure to environmental carcinogens, hormonal factors, and/or disease management. Additionally, it has been shown that women suffer from delays in diagnosis because of inefficiencies in healthcare delivery. On genomic analyses, women were found to be more likely to harbor basal subtypes of BCa compared with men.A steadily growing body of evidence reveals that women present with more advanced BCa and have stage-for-stage worse outcome compared with men. The underlying mechanisms for this gender difference are multifactorial. Further studies are needed to elucidate the molecular underpinning of this gender-gap and subsequently explore potential novel gender-specific management strategies.