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To evaluate postoperative symptoms after Greenlight™ photovaporisation of the prostate (PVP), through a dedicated questionnaire.A retrospective study has been conducted between 2008 and 2014. The questionnaire had 5 sections about pain while voiding, hematuria, urgency, incontinence and urinary stream, and was filled at one-month postoperative. The main outcome criterion was pain while voiding. Descriptive statistical analyses were done to identify predictive factors for pain while voiding.Out of 169 patients, 22% had no pain while voiding, 37% had moderate pain, 30% acceptable pain and 11% intense pain. Patients with pain were significantly older, (P=0.012), had more urgency (P=0.01) and more often hematuria (P=0.0001). Only 7% of patients had no symptoms of urgency, and urgency was painful or bothering in 57% of cases. Hematuria was frequent, with clots in 21% of cases. Ninety three percent felt improvement of urinary stream.Systematic evaluation of symptoms through a dedicated questionnaire one month after PVP has shown that 41% of patients felt pain while voiding, 57% had urgency and 39% significant hematuria. These results should encourage a more accurate patient information and further studies to better understand postoperative healing after PVP.

The medicoeconomic issues of drug management of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) are essential due to the aging population and the increasing number of therapeutic options. It is thus essential to assess the cost-effectiveness in order to define the most appropriate therapeutic strategies economically. The objective of this work was to conduct a literature review on the medicoeconomic studies on the drug therapy of BPH.After analyzing the literature, 43 articles were found and 9 were selected for their relevance.Based on Markov models, we observed that: combination therapy and combined treatments (alphablockers and inhibitors of 5-alpha reductase [5ARI]) seemed to have the best cost-effectiveness. Then came the alphablockers, less expensive but exposing to a greater risk of progression and to the necessity of surgical treatments. Then came the 5ARI monotherapy and finally simple monitoring.The Markov models are imperfect tools, and resources invested in care depend on both the economic model and the value that individuals and society give to efficiency and cost.

Rare and severe complications of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) surgery are poorly documented in the literature. Our purpose was to make an inventory of severe and unexpected complications of BPH faced by urologists of the French Association of Urology (AFU).A declarative 13-question survey was sent by e-mail 2 months before the 108th French Congress of Urology to the urologist's members of the AFU. Complications were split in complications due to material and complications directly related to the surgery.Overall, 216 (16.2%) urologists surveyed but only 85 forms were usable. Complications related to the material was divided into: excessive temperature of the serum irrigation leading to urethral and bladder burns (n=5), material default leading to interruption of the procedure (n=1) or incomplete hemostasis (n=2) and endoscope rupture (n=1). Peroperative complications related to surgery were divided into surgical complications: haemorrhage (n=7), urethral wounds (n=6), perforation and/or explosion (n=16), rectal wounds (n=11), obstructive renal failure (n=1); and medical complications: TURP syndrome (n=2), cardiovascular (n=5) and septic shock (n=6).This is the first French declarative study having allowed the identification of severe and unexpected complications of BPH surgery. The recorded occurred complications were very eclectic and secondary to all types of techniques used.

Summary Objective: An assessment of the quality of health information on the Internet is an absolute necessity. In this study ‘sensitive’ information was defined as information found in documents published on the Internet, which could be used in a medical decision. For sensitive information, the main criterion chosen for the quality of the information was an indication of the level of evidence. A survey was conducted using the CISMeF health catalogue to assess how often a score of the level of evidence is mentioned in the information accessible on the Internet in French-language health resources. Methods: Since 1999, members of the CISMeF team have systematically been searching for all documents containing ‘sensitive’ information and verifying whether the level of evidence was explicitly indicated as a score at least once in the document. Results: As of June 2001, 10,190 resources were included in CISMeF; including 2964 textual ‘sensitive’ resources (29.1%). Out of all these resources, only 4.7% (95% confidence interval: 4.0 - 5.5%) indicated the level of evidence. A statistically significant difference in the prevalence of indicating the level of evidence according to resource types (e.g., 18.1% for guidelines compared to 0.0% for teaching material), year of publication (almost three times greater in 1997-2001 compared with 1990-1996) and publishers was observed. Conclusion: As the number of people accessing the growing amount of information on the Internet is increasing daily, publishers have an ethical obligation to inform their readers about the validity of ‘sensitive’ information their sites contain. However, the vast majority of the French language Internet resources that were surveyed do not mention a score of the level of evidence for their sensitive information.

The French guidelines on the management of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) have been published in 2012 by the LUTS committee of the French Urological Association. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of these guidelines on the BPH management by French urologists.A questionnaire has been distributed by email to 1141 urologists members of the French Association of Urologists in November 2013.We collected 222 responses (response rate: 19%). The guidelines have been read by 73% of the urologists. The guidelines were followed most of the time by 76% of them, 11% followed them systematically and 4.5% did not follow them. The new terminology was used by 28 to 52% according to the items. The symptoms were evaluated by the IPSS score (33%), by interrogatory alone (64%) or by neither of them (3%). Prostate volume was not systematically taken for account in the treatment strategy by 57% of the urologists. Sexual function was assessed systematically by 28% of the urologists, 11% used a questionnaire (IIEF: 92%). PSA was tested respectively by 70 and 51% of the urologists at the initial evaluation and the follow-up. After introduction of a monotherapy, 56% of the urologists evaluated the efficacy at 3 months.The French guidelines for the management of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) by the LUTS committee of the French Urological Association were well known and used by French urologists. Some improvements can be expected for the use of the IPSS score, the evaluation of the sexual function, and the use of the new terminology.4.

Sexuality is a complex entity involving several aspects, including desire, libido, pleasure, sexual life, intercourse, erection, ejaculation, orgasm, happiness and bother. Sexuality can be assessed through patient-doctor interviews as well as through self-completing questionnaires. A number of these have been validated and translated into several languages. It is important that such questionnaires are simple and easy for the patient to complete. One commonly used instrument is the International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF), which involves 15 questions on five domains: erectile function, orgasmic function, sexual desire, intercourse satisfaction and overall satisfaction. This has recently been simplified to five questions (IIEF-5). A number of questionnaires, such as the modified Danish Prostatic Symptom Score (DAN-PSS) and International Continence Society sex (ICSsex), take into account the bother caused by sexual dysfunction. There is expected to be an increasing number of sexually active men consulting with lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) as the population ages. Evidence suggests that the severity of LUTS is linked with sexual dysfunction and consequently this significant aspect of life for men of all ages should be taken into consideration in the management of LUTS associated with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH).Prostate Cancer and Prostatic Diseases (2001) 4, S7-S11

Objectives. To determine the effectiveness of alfuzosin on symptom reduction, patients’ perceived health-related quality of life (HRQL) improvement, adverse outcomes, treatment failure, and progression to acute urinary retention and prostate surgery in patients with lower urinary tract symptoms suggestive of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) in a 1-year prospective, open-labeled study. Methods. A total of 2829 patients (mean age 65.9 years) were included in the study and received either alfuzosin 2.5 mg three times daily or alfuzosin slow release 5 mg twice daily. The evaluation was based on the International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS), the eighth IPSS question, and a nine-item BPH HRQL questionnaire (BPHQL9) exploring well-being, the patient’s perceived sexual life, and BPH-specific interferences with activities. Results. A total of 2442 patients (86.3%) completed the study; the main reasons for noncompletion were adverse events (n = 141, 5.0%), lack of efficacy (n = 136, 4.8%), and death (n = 48, 1.7%); 121 patients (4.3%) underwent prostate surgery, and 33 patients (1.2%) experienced acute urinary retention. No correlation was found between noncompletion and prostate volume or baseline severity. The distribution of patients (in percentages) according to the IPSS, IPSS question 8, and BPHQL9 classes of severity (mild/moderate/severe) at baseline was 1.9/49.0/49.1, 0.7/65.5/33.8, and 7.7/50.4/41.9, respectively, and at 1 year was 47.4/50.3/2.4, 34.1/64.9/1.0, and 39.0/50.9/10.1, respectively. The IPSS (19.5 ± 0.1) was reduced by 49.6% (9.9 ± 0.1) at 6 months and by 53.8% (11.1 ± 0.1) at 12 months. Symptom reduction strongly correlated with the initial symptom severity (P

The objectives of this open-labeled study were to assess the clinical uroselectivity of alfuzosin in a long-term follow-up study in general practice. A total of 3,228 patients with clinical benign pro

Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) testing is high in France. The aim of this study was to estimate their frequency and those of biopsy and newly diagnosed cancer (PCa) according to the presence or absence of treated benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH).This study concerned men 40 years and older covered by the main French national health insurance scheme (73 % of all men of this age). Data were collected from the national health insurance information system (SNIIRAM). This database comprehensively records all of the outpatient prescriptions and healthcare services reimbursed. This information are linked to data collected during hospitalisations.The frequency of men without diagnosed PCa (10.9 millions) with at least one PSA test was very high in 2011 (men aged 40 years and older: 30 %, 70-74 years: 56 %, 85 years and older: 33 % and without HBP: 25 %, 41 % and 19 %). Men with treated BPH totalized 9 % of the study population, but 18 % of the men with at least one PSA test, 44 % of those with at least one prostate biopsy and 40 % of those with newly managed PCa. Over a 3-year period, excluding men with PCa, 88 % of men with BPH had at least one PSA test and 52 % had three or more PSA tests versus 52 % and 15 % for men without BPH. One year after PSA testing, men of 55-69 years with BPH more frequently underwent prostate biopsy than those without BPH (5.4 % vs 1.8 %) and presented PCa (1.9 % vs 0.9 %).PSA testing frequencies in France are very high even after exclusion of men with BPH, who can be a group with more frequent managed PCa.4.

Objective To construct and validate a short-form benign prostatic hypertrophy (BPH) health-related quality-of-life (HRQL) questionnaire which is more practical in use and as informative as the 20-item visual analogue scale questionnaire (QOL20) previously validated in French. Patients and methods From the factorial structure of the QOL20, a nine-item questionnaire (QOL9) was constructed using stepwise linear regression and factorial analysis. The feasibility and reliability of the QOL9 were analysed in a cross-sectional case-control study and a longitudinal cohort study, including symptomatic patients with BPH treated for 6 months with an a1-blocker (alfuzosin). Results The reduction of the QOL20 to QOL9 showed a minimal loss of information (90–95% of the variance of QOL20 was explained by QOL9) and lead to a three-dimensional structure: well being, patients’ perceived sexual-life status, and BPH interference with activities. The QOL9 was practical in use (completion rate 87–100%; duration of completion at inclusion 11.6, sd 2.0 min), consistent (Cronbach’s alpha>0.7), reliable (intraclass correlation coefficient >0.80) and responsive (effect-size index 0.9, sd 0.01 in the longitudinal study). Conclusions The QOL9 is a good BPH HRQL questionnaire, including an assessment of patients’ perceived sexual-life status; it easy to administer, accurate, reproducible and responsive to change with treatment. We suggest that the QOL9 be substituted for the QOL20 and administered in addition to the International Prostate Symptom Score to obtain a better assessment of the patients’ perception of their disease.

To perform an update on the conservative treatment of male non-neurologic urinary incontinence.A systematic review was conducted using PubMed/MEDLINE with the following keywords: "incontinence", "male stress urinary incontinence", "pelvic floor training", "biofeedback", "absorbant products", "life style", "penile clamp".Palliative devices like penile clamps, penile sheaths and absorbent products were transitory options that were poorly evaluated. Life style modifications (scheduled voiding, controlled hydric absorption, decreased caffeine and spice intake) were useful in complement of other treatments especially in case of overactive bladder. Pelvic floor training (PFT) was useful after radical prostatectomy but remained optional for other types of incontinence. It accelerated the continence recovery postoperatively but it results at 1 year were uncertain. These results were maintained 1 year. Conservative treatments were useful postoperatively especially early supervised PFT. The benefit of biofeedback and perineal stimulation was controversial. Balder catheterization was a last resort option. Penile sheaths were better than urethral catheterization if there were no post-voiding residual urines.Palliative options have a limited efficacy but are mini-invasive and might be helpful complementary options.

To perform an update on the treatment of masculine urinary incontinence due to idiopathic overactive bladder.A systematic review was conducted using PubMed/MEDLINE with the following keywords: "overactive bladder", "male urinary incontinence", "urgency", "antimuscarinic", "onabotulinumtoxinA", "neurostimulation", "cystoplasty".Antimuscarinic treatments were the first line option for overactive bladder incontinence (decreased incontinence under tolterodine versus placebo respectively -71% vs. -40%, P0.05). Their main side effects were dry mouth (16-29.6%) and constipation (4%), which might decrease the observance. In case of failure, neuromostimulation could be prosed with a 67% efficacy rate. Intra-detrusorian injections of onabotulinumtoxinA were an option, however there were still not validated for this indication and their efficacy decreases with time and after repeated injections. The ultimate option in case of refractory major over-activity was cystoplasty, which involves major morbidity for inconstant efficacy.The same treatments are available for non-neurologic urinary incontinence by bladder over-activity for men and women: antimuscarinic drugs, neurostimulation, onabotulinumtoxinA. However, only few data is available for masculine population exclusively.

To perform an update on the initial evaluation of male urinary incontinence (MUI).A systematic review was conducted using Pubmed/Medline from 1995 to 2013.Definition of MUI and its prevalence is variable according its definition and the population. Tools for its evaluation have been mainly studied in female population or only in patients with UI after radical prostatectomy. Objectives of the initial evaluation are to assess the type of incontinence, to evaluate its severity and the bother associated, and define the choice of treatment. Medical history, clinical assessment, and urine analysis are the first steps of the evaluation. Bladder diary, questionnaires and pad test can be useful to evaluate MUI. Post-void residual volume assessment is necessary if lower urinary tract symptoms are associated. Imaging is not routinely used in MUI. A specialist referral and further investigations such as urethrocystoscopy and urodynamics should be considered in case of invasive treatment, recurrent incontinence and specific situations.Initial assessment of MUI should be sequential with systematic investigations and optional ones.

To investigate in men with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) treated in the general practitioner setting (1) the magnitude and durability of symptom score improvement with alfuzosin; (2) the effect on patients perceived health-related quality of life (HRQL) and sexuality, (3) adverse outcomes and treatment failure; and (4) progression to acute urinary retention and prostate surgery.A large, open outcome study was undertaken in the general practitioner setting in France, and a cohort of men with symptomatic BPH who received alfuzosin for 12 months was established. A total of 5849 patients (mean age 66.7 years) were enrolled by 1508 general practitioners in France. Men were examined at baseline and at 3 months, 6 months, and 1 year. To produce standardized outcome measures of disease-specific health status, under the conditions of routine care in the community, patients in the study completed a self-administered symptom questionnaire (score range 0 to 40) and a new, validated BPH-specific HRQL questionnaire (score range 0 to 200). Questionnaires were completed at baseline and during follow-up at 3, 6, and 12 months.Alfuzosin was effective in reducing symptoms; 98% (420) of severely and 85% (2479) of moderately symptomatic patients experienced improvement. At 3 months, the global symptom score was reduced by 9.49 +/- 0.08 (-53%), and this reduction persisted for the remainder of the study (-9.76 +/- 0.11). In contrast to the global reduction of symptom scores, there was a time-dependent improvement (+18.41 +/- 0.32 [+30%], +18.45 +/- 0.54 [+37%], and +23.42 +/- 0.57 [+43%] at 3, 6, and 12 months, respectively), in patients' perception of HRQL status. The magnitude of the improvement in HROL status was significantly more pronounced for those patients who had moderate or severe nocturia and daytime frequency at baseline than for those who had mild levels of the same symptoms. Sexuality score at baseline was significantly related to age and was significantly (P0.0001) higher in patients less than 70 years old than in older patients. Improvement in patients' perceived sexuality was significant at 12 months (P0.0001) and was correlated with age.The results of this large cohort study demonstrate the effectiveness of alfuzosin in reducing symptom severity and improving HRQL status over a 12-month period in men with BPH. It also suggests that HQRL and symptom severity are different and complementary entities. The results of the present study highlight the improvement in HRQL and patients' perceived sexuality that can be achieved in symptomatic patients with BPH receiving a 12-month course of alfuzosin therapy.

The safety profile of alfuzosin, a selective alpha 1-adrenergic antagonist, was assessed in a total of 13,389 patients (mean age 66.9 +/- 8.5 years) with symptomatic benign prostatic hypertrophy in two open, noncontrolled, multicentre, post-marketing surveillance studies, both conducted in France. Alfuzosin was prescribed at the recommended dose of 2.5 mg t.i.d., according to the current labelling recommendations, for a 3-month period. Clinical safety was assessed using spontaneous reporting of adverse events leading to discontinuation of treatment. Overall, 89.7% of the patients completed the treatment period. Drop outs were recorded in 10.3% of patients: 3.7% for intolerance; 1.5% for resolution of urinary symptoms; 2.1% for lack of efficacy, and 3.0% for loss to follow-up, noncompliance, and miscellaneous reasons. Two thirds of the adverse events leading to discontinuation were vasodilatory and occurred in 2.7% of the patients: vertigo/dizziness (1.4%); malaise (0.6%); hypotension (0.4%), and headache (0.4%). Other adverse events (predominantly gastrointestinal disorders) were recorded in < 1.2% of the patients. Three quarters of the adverse events occurred during the first week of therapy. As expected, adverse events were more frequent in the elderly (aged over 75 years) and in patients taking cardiovascular drugs or with concomitant cardiovascular disease. Overall, alfuzosin was very well tolerated and the adverse event profile was consistent with the cumulative experience of the drug. No unexpected or serious adverse events considered to be related to alfuzosin were recorded. Particular care must be taken when prescribing for very elderly patients and/or those with concomitant cardiovascular disease for which they are receiving therapy.

To elaborate guidelines for the diagnosis, the follow-up, and the treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH).A systematic review of the literature was conducted to select more relevant publications. The level of evidence was evaluated. Graded recommendations were written by a working group, and then reviewed by a reviewer group according to the formalized consensus technique.Terminology of the International Continence Society was used. Initial assessment has several aims: making sure that lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) are related to BPH, assessing bother related to LUTS and checking for a possible complicated bladder outlet obstruction (BOO). Initial assessment should include: medical history, LUTS assessment using a symptomatic score, physical examination including digital rectal examination, urinalysis, flow rate recording, and residual urine volume. Frequency volume chart is recommended when storage symptoms are predominant. Serum PSA should be done when the diagnosis of prostate cancer can modify the management. When a surgical treatment is discussed, serum PSA, serum creatinine and ultrasonography of the urinary tract are recommended. BPH patients should be informed of the benign and possibly progressive patterns of the disease. When LUTS cause no bother, annual follow-up should be planned. Medical treatment includes some phytotherapy agents, alpha-blockers and 5-alpha reductase inhibitors. The last two can be associated. The association of antimuscarinics and alpha-blockers can be offered to patients with residual storage symptoms when already under alpha-blockers therapy, after checking for the absence of severe BOO (residual volume more than 200mL or max urinary flow less than 10mL/s). Phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitors could be used in patients complaining for both LUTS and erectile dysfunction. In case of complication, or when medical treatment is inefficient or not tolerated, then a surgical treatment should be discussed. Treatment decision should be done according to type of LUTS and related bother, prostate anatomy, level of obstruction and its consequences on urinary tract, patient co-morbidities, experience of practitioner, and choice of patient. Surgical treatments with the higher level of evidence of efficacy include monopolar or bipolar transurethral resection of the prostate, open prostatectomy, transurethral incision of the prostate, photoselective vaporization of the prostate, and Holmium laser enuclation of the prostate.Here are the first guidelines of the French Urological Association for the initial assessment, the follow-up and the treatment of urinary disorders related to BPH.

To assess the diagnostic performances and the acceptability of the penile cuff test (PCT) which is a non invasive method for the evaluation of bladder outlet obstruction (BOO), in comparison with the pressure flow study (PFS), the actual gold-standard.Monocentric prospective study comparing the following subsets: "obstructed", "not obstructed" or "equivocal", deduced from PFS vs PCT, in 30 consecutive patients presenting with lower urinary tract symptoms. For the PCT, a cuff placed around the penis inflated automatically during the micturition, until flow rate interruption. The interruption cuff pressure revealed the isovolumetric bladder pressure (Pcuff-int). The data collected - Pcuff-int and maximum flow rate - were automatically reported on ICS modified nomogram.With the PFS, 11 patients (39%) were classified "obstructed", six patients (22%) "non-obstructed" and 11 patients (39%) "equivocal". In 61% cases, the patient was classified in the same category by both techniques. The "obstructed positive predictive value" of the PCT was 82% and the "non-obstructed-equivocal negative predictive value" was 88%. The median acceptability visual analogic scale score was 1/10 (0-3) for the PCT whereas it was 5/10 (2-10) for the PFS. This difference was statistically significant (p=0.004).The PCT was a reliable non-invasive tool for the diagnosis of BOO in male, in comparison with PFS. The predictive values of the PCT were relevant and its tolerance was better than PFS.

To perform an update on mini-invasive surgical treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) by thermotherapy and other emerging techniques.A systematic review of literature was performed in Pubmed database for the period running from 1980 to 2011. The level of evidence of each report was evaluated, and only recent publications of high level of evidence were included.Monopolar transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP) and open prostatectomy remain the gold standards. Thermotherapy using transurethral microwaves or needle ablation is an alternative to medical management. Urethral stents should only be proposed in exceptional cases of surgical contra-indication, because of their related complications. Botulinium toxin and ethanol intra-prostatic injections are currently under evaluation.

To perform an update on the initial evaluation and follow-up of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH).A systematic review of recent literature was performed. Level of evidence of publications was evaluated.Objectives of the initial evaluation are to assess the link between low urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) and BPH, to evaluate the bother associated to LUTS, assess a complicated bladder outlet obstruction (BOO), diagnose an adenocarcinoma of the prostate if it modifies the therapeutic strategy, and establish an evolutive profile of the disease. Clinical assessment with digital rectal examination, evaluation of symptoms by a dedicated questionnaire and urine analysis are the first steps of BPH evaluation. Bladder diary is useful to objective storage symptoms. Uroflowmetry and post-void residual volume assessment are useful if BOO is suspected. Measure of serum creatinine and ultrasound exam of the urinary tract are second line explorations. Urine cytology, neurological evaluation, urethrocystoscopy, urodynamics with pressure-flow studies are useful if the link between LUTS and BPH is unclear. PSA dosage is used for prostate cancer screening or as a prognostic marker of BPH evolution.

To perform an update on the surgical treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) by endoscopic electric resection and vaporization, and by open prostatectomy.A systematic review of recent literature was performed. The level of evidence of each report was evaluated, and only recent publications of high level of evidence were included.Both monopolar transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP) and open prostatectomy remain the gold standards. Endoscopic electric alternatives are monopolar and bipolar prostate vaporisation as well as bipolar resection. These techniques seem to show similar functional results than TURP and open prostatectomy, as well as an advantage in terms of bleeding.

The medical treatment of lower urinary tract symptoms related to benign prostatic hyperplasia (LUTS-BPH) has dramatically evolved within the last years: new drugs have been commercialized and others that used to be contra-indicated may now be prescribed. Our objective was to provide with an updated review of the scientific literature on the medical treatment of LUTS-BPH.A systematic review of the most recent scientific literature was performed. The query was addressed to the PubMed database using the following keywords: "benign prostatic hyperplasia" and "medical treatment". A very large amount of publications, from year 1990 until 2011, were reviewed to select the publications with level of evidence 1 and 2. These publications were analysed and the 30 most relevant were selected to serve as references for this article.There are many randomized clinical trials in the field of LUTS-BPH medical treatment. Recently, anti-muscarinic agents have been assessed and have proven their efficacy and tolerance as long as the storage symptoms are predominant over the voiding symptoms. Combination therapies using alpha-blockers and 5-alpha reductase (5-ARI) inhibitors, but also anti-muscarinic agents and PDEF-5 inhibitors may also be prescribed depending on the patient' complaint.The publication of recent randomized clinical trials allows the urologists to use new drugs and new combination therapies in the medical treatment of LUTS-BPH. In 2011, the medical treatment decision-making may better integrate the patient' complaint and medical history.

To perform an update on the surgical treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) by laser.A systematic review of recent literature was performed. The level of evidence of each report was evaluated, and only recent publications of high level of evidence were included.Monopolar transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP) and open prostatectomy remain the gold standards. Alternative endoscopic options are laser photoselective vaporisation, holmium enucleation and thulium resection. These techniques seem to show functional results similar to those obtained after TURP and open prostatectomy, as well as an advantage in terms of bleeding.

In recent years, considerable attention has been paid to the patient's point of view by monitoring medical care outcomes in terms of quality of life (QOL). The objective of this study was to evaluate the QOL of a representative population of patients undergoing medical treatment for symptoms of benign prostatic hypertrophy (BPH). A French BPH-specific QOL scale was constructed by a group of experts to assure content validity. A self-administered questionnaire consisting of 20 visual analogue scales exploring the physical, mental, social and general aspects of QOL was designed and validated. A total of 7,093 patients (mean age 66.7 years) was included in an open, prospective, 1-year study

Ambulatory surgery is an alternative to traditional hospitalisation and an opportunity for savings for the healthcare system. Here, we analyze our experience in outpatient surgery in urology over a year.A prospective database concerning outpatient activity was established in 2009, gathering age, ASA score, type of intervention, discharge and recovery for each patient. An individual questionnaire was sent retrospectively in February 2010, to collect data about history of outpatient surgery, overall satisfaction, preference for traditional hospitalization and emergency department visits within 48 hours after surgery.In 2009, 465 patients aged of 52±16 years (15-98) underwent urologic surgery on an outpatient basis. Median ASA score was 2 (1-3). Types of intervention were mainly endo-urology (44.5%), surgery for urinary incontinence (32.5%), and circumcision (12.3%). The postoperative hospitalization rate was 4.5%. The questionnaire response rate was 28%. Forty-six percent of the patients had already been supported in ambulatory, overall satisfaction was 3.3 out of 4 (±1.06) and 24% of patients would have preferred a traditional hospitalization. 11% of patients required emergency department care within 48 hours whatever the surgery undergone.An important part of urological procedures has been done on an outpatient basis without compromising quality of care and patient satisfaction.

The prescription of a long-term oral anticoagulant may pose several problems for the endoscopic surgery of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). Questions regarding the length of its interruption, what it can be replaced by and the date oral treatment can be resumed must be asked at preoperative stage to avoid haemorrhaging or cardiovascular accidents. While the number of patients concerned by this type of prescription continues to grow, surgical hemostasis techniques continue to progress and recommendations for good practice are evolving. It is therefore interesting to bring up to date the knowledge and recommendations for surgery of BHP while being treated with anticoagulants.A systematic revue of publications and of recommendations by knowledgeable bodies in cardiology and anesthesia were carried out.The transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP) is an intervention which carries an intermediate risk of haemorrhaging. Whenever possible, it is recommended to briefly interrupt the anticoagulant treatment in the perioperative period. For antivitamins K, heparinotherapy takes over, which, thanks to a short half-life, allows for a quicker management of the anticoagulation. For antiplatelets, the tendency is towards proposing an interruption for 4 to 5 days before the intervention. In all cases, the anticoagulant must be reintroduced as quickly as possible because cardiovascular risks are in proportion to the length of time of interruption.The strategy for treatment of patients taking oral anticoagulants is complex. It must be defined in consultation with the anesthetist, the cardiologist or hemostatis specialist. Nevertheless, the urologist remains at the center of the decision for treatment because he/she is the only one who can weigh up the risk of haemorrhaging, the cardiovascular risks and the necessity of an operation and technique used.

In a simplified model the authors follow the evolution of the originally non-thermal momentum distribution in order to clarify the reason for too good an agreement between models with thermal equilibrium and detected spectra. The result is that the final entropy deficiency may indeed be quite substantial at 800 MeV/nucleon beam energy for smaller nuclei, but the detected energy distribution is not very sensitive to this deviation. Therefore energy spectra do not give too direct a check of equilibration in this energy range.

The incidence of postprostatectomy urinary incontinence varies according to the technique used, over time and according to the type of management, with an incidence at one year ranging from just a few percent to more than 60%. Assessment is required in the case of persistent disabling urinary incontinence despite well conducted perineal rehabilitation one year after surgery or earlier in the case of severe incontinence. Urodynamic assessment is the essential examination to quantify urethral closure pressure. A review of the literature of urodynamic assessment and electromyography is presented.

The management of moderate urinary incontinence after radical prostatectomy may require the use of an artificial sphincter, which remains the reference technique although it requires implantation of material, sometimes involving redo operations. Submucosal macroplastique injections have been proposed, but the results do not appear to be maintained over time. Cell therapy, consisting of the injection of stem cells into or close to the sphincter, probably represents the approach of the future, but in 2006, studies were still only at the evaluation phase.

The treatment of incontinence is changing, but perineal rehabilitation still plays an essential role and is usually able to rapidly and effectively improve urinary incontinence. Medical treatment modalities are fairly limited: anticholinergic drugs have a limited efficacy except in the case of unstable bladder demonstrated by urodynamic assessment and, despite encouraging preliminary results, duloxetine has not obtained scientific recognition or marketing authorization.

Preservation of continence essentially depends on the operator and the quality of the operative procedure. The number of publications on this subject reflects the desire of urologists to provide their patients not only with control of the cancer but also preservation of their sexual and urinary functions. Ideally, surgery should preserve the striated sphincter and levator muscles, the neurovascular pedicles when oncologically acceptable, and the bladder neck and a leak-proof anastomosis must be ensured. The surgeon must satisfy two imperatives to achieve these objectives: a good knowledge of anatomy and meticulous preservation of this anatomy from the beginning to the end of the operation by highly selective dissection in selected patients. Finally, the Comité des Troubles Mictionnels de l'Homme (Male Voiding Disorders Committee) proposes guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of urinary incontinence after radical prostatectomy.

The prevalence of urinary symptoms, their impact on quality of life and sexuality and the man's attitude in relation to these problem were studied by a self-administered questionnaire (including I-PSS, 6 questions of DAN-PSS-1, BPHQL9 and IIEF).This questionnaire was sent by mail to a national representative sample of 3,500 French men aged 50 to 80 years. Of the 2,372 men who returned an interpretable questionnaire, 21%, 33% and 42% belonged to the severe or moderate category for symptoms, tolerance of symptoms, and alteration of quality of life, respectively.81% of men reported sexual activity during the last 4 weeks. 8.3% of men were treated with "antiprostate" medical treatments, and 8% had been operated (16% of them were treated medically after the operation). Only 29% and 17% of men had talked about their sexual and urinary problems, respectively.Alteration of functional and perceived sexuality was correlated with age and the severity of symptoms in non-operated patients, but the poor correlations between scales evaluating sexuality and symptoms indicate that sexuality is a difficult aspect to investigate.

As we have previously published 4 articles reporting the treatment of 7,093 clinical benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) patients treated with alfuzosin in a 3-month open-labelled study which was subsequently extended to 12, 24, and 36 months, the objective of this article is to provide additional data on dropouts, acute urinary retention (AUR), progression to surgery, and safety under the natural conditions of general practice, paying special attention to the predictive factors.7,093 patients were initially enrolled by 1,812 centers for up to 3 months. Subsequently 1,508, 1,325, and 812 general practitioners agreed to extend the study up to 12, 24, and 36 months, respectively, which corresponds to 4 patient populations.The baseline symptom profile of patients who completed the study was identical to that of patients who dropped out (because the center resigned or during treatment). In the 4 patient populations, the percentage of patients per month who dropped out, experienced adverse effects, AUR and surgery were 0. 6-1.6, 0.1-0.5, 0.01-0.03, and 0.1-0.3%, respectively. The classes of symptom severity were not predictive for dropouts: 3.5, 12.6, 20, and 14.3% of the severe patients dropped out during treatment versus 4.2, 13.7, 22.9, and 14.0% of the moderate patients who dropped out up to 3, 12, 24, and 36 months, respectively. Safety was satisfactory regarding the number of adverse events and blood pressure measurement. No retrograde ejaculation was reported.Under the natural conditions of general practice the reasons for dropping out were not correlated with symptom severity.

To determine (a) the amplitude and duration of reduction of the symptom score and improvement of the HRQL score (including sexual function), (b) the adverse effects and (c) the incidence of acute urinary retention and prostatic surgery during the 3 years of alfuzosin treatment.3,228 patients suffering from BPH were included by 812 centers in a 3-year open prospective study and were treated with alfuzosin (immediate release) at the recommended dosage. A symptom score (modified Boyarsky) and a specific HRQL score, comprising 20 items including 3 questions on sexuality (Urolifetm BPH Qol20) were self-administered on inclusion and after 3, 6, 12, 18, 24, 30 and 36 months.2,579 patients (79.9%) completed the 3 years of the study. The symptom score was significantly decreased by 54% at 3 months and this reduction was maintained until 36 months (-48.4%); the HRQL score was significantly improved by 45.4% at 12 months and this improvement was maintained until 36 months (+43.4%). Alfuzosin was well tolerated: the qualitative and quantitative distribution of adverse effects was identical to that previously observed in placebo-controlled trials (vertigo-dizziness: 2.1%). Adverse effects were responsible for 4.2% of drop-outs from the trial. 120 patients (3.7%) were operated for BPH and 9 patients (0.3%) developed acute urinary retention.This prospective study confirms the long-term safety of use of alfuzosin under routine general practice conditions and emphasizes the need to measure HRQL in the context of the patient's opinion.

To construct and validate a short-form benign prostatic hypertrophy (BPH) health-related quality-of-life (HRQL) questionnaire which is more practical in use and as informative as the 20-item visual analogue scale questionnaire (QOL20) previously validated in French.From the factorial structure of the QOL20, a nine-item questionnaire (QOL9) was constructed using stepwise linear regression and factorial analysis. The feasibility and reliability of the QOL9 were analysed in a cross-sectional case-control study and a longitudinal cohort study, including symptomatic patients with BPH treated for 6 months with an alpha 1-blocker (alfuzosin).The reduction of the QOL20 to QOL9 showed a minimal loss of information (90-95% of the variance of QOL20 was explained by QOL9) and lead to a three-dimensional structure: well being, patients' perceived sexual-life status, and BPH interference with activities. The QOL9 was practical in use (completion rate 87-100%; duration of completion at inclusion 11.6, SD 2.0 min), consistent (Cronbach's alpha0.7), reliable (intraclass correlation coefficient0.80) and responsive (effect-size index 0.9, SD 0.01 in the longitudinal study).The QOL9 is a good BPH HRQL questionnaire, including an assessment of patients' perceived sexual-life status; it easy to administer, accurate, reproducible and responsive to change with treatment. We suggest that the QOL9 be substituted for the QOL20 and administered in addition to the International Prostate Symptom Score to obtain a better assessment of the patients' perception of their disease.

To prospectively evaluate the feasibility of determination of the Valsalva Leak Point Pressure (VLPP).From 1st January to 31st July 1996, 155 consecutive patients investigated for urinary incontinence with no pelvis static disorder performed Valsalva manoeuvres during cystomanometry in order to determine the VLPP. The examination was performed in the standing position at a filling volume of 200 cc with then without a vesical pressure transducer. The mean age of the patients was 54 +/- 16 years (range: 16-84 years).The mean maximal intensity of abdominal straining pressure measured by the intravesical transducer was 72 +/- 28 cm of water. The VLPP could not be determined in 50.4% of cases, as the abdominal straining pressure during the Valsalva manoeuvre was less than 60 cm of water. No correlation was observed between abdominal straining pressure and patient age (r = 0.13; p0.1).Leak Point Pressure cannot always be determined by the Valsalva method. Other techniques of progressive increase of intravesical pressure must be investigated.

Objectives: To investigate (a) the magnitude and durability of symptom score reduction and HRQL score improvement (including sexual drive); (b) adverse outcomes; and (c) progression to acute urinary retention and prostate surgery up to three years of treatment with alfuzosin. Methods: Three thousand two hundred and twenty-eight BPH-patients out of 812 centers were included in a prospective three-year open-labelled study and treated with alfuzosin (immediate release formulation) at the recommended dosage. A symptom score (Boyarsky modified) and a 20-item BPH specific HRQL score including three questions of sexuality (Urolife(TM) BPH QoL 20) were self-administered at baseline, 3, 6, 12, 18, 24, 30, and 36 months. Results: Two thousand five hundred and seventy-nine patients (79.9%) completed the study at the end of three years. Symptom score was significantly reduced by 54% at 3 months and this reduction was maintained up to 36 months (-48.4%); HRQL score was significantly improved by 45.4% at 12 months and this improvement was maintained up to 36 months (+43.4%). Alfuzosin was well tolerated: the quantitative and qualitative distribution of adverse events was similar to that previously observed in placebo-controlled studies (vertigo/dizziness: 2.1%). Adverse events accounted for 4.2% of the drop-outs. 120 patients (3.7%) were operated on for BPH and nine patients (0.3%) experienced acute urinary retention. Conclusion: This medical outcomes study confirms the long-term safety profile of alfuzosin in the naturalistic conditions of general practice and highlights the need to measure HRQL in the context of patient's preferences.

Treatment utility can be defined as a combination of objective clinical efficacy and quality-of-life results (i.e. subjective criteria). It is a particularly useful concept in diseases such as benign prostatic hyperplasia where important differences may exist between the results of objective measurements and the assessment of subjective complaints and quality-of-life impairment. The collection of data regarding treatment utility involves the generation of large patient care databases which provide long-term data in representative, general practice, patient populations. Such data provide overall information for physicians, health care providers, patients, insurance companies and health care decision-makers and enable them to define the long-term effectiveness of each treatment. In addition, predictive or risk factors which may assist in appropriate clinical decision-making may be identified. Such data also provide cost/ utility information. Finally, the data could be used in daily practice to allow the physician to make rapid therapeutic decisions.

The Unified Medical Language System (UMLS) contains and organizes a large number of terms from a variety of biomedical terminology systems. This study examines the relevance of the UMLS content and structures to the specific purpose of the conceptual representation of medical procedures. The MAOUSSC modelling is a compositional formalism with a description of elementary procedures in terms of elementary concept entities and combinations of such descriptions into more complex ones. The UMLS knowledge base is expected to provide semantically categorized medical concepts and interconcept relations. A method to reuse the UMLS has been developed. Quantitative and qualitative results are presented. Some difficulties in reusing the UMLS as a background knowledge are related to the preeminence of some terminology sources and to the instanciation of interconcept links. Other ones suggest that purpose-independence in categorization cannot be achieved.

Paris public hospital urology departments conducted a study which had three objectives: - to test the indicators of activity to determine whether they were well adapted to measurement of the surgical activity performed, - to determine the contribution of the PMSI to the measurement of this activity, - to propose actions designed to improve the representation of the surgical activity actually performed by urology departments. The results of this study show that one half of the operations performed do not correspond to the field of PMSI (day-only admissions, outpatients department). The indicators currently used for budget allocation or interdepartment comparisons of activity are inadequate and, most importantly, induce deformities, variable from one department to another, which severely affect the image of the activity produced by these indicators. Two main reasons can explain these deformities: - the use of the NGAP and the score to measure activity: there is a marked variation of the score for the same operation, from one department to another. - the very poor census of activity performed in outpatient surgery. These two reasons are not related to the medical activity. Definition of a unique nomenclature for surgical procedures would constitute a great progress, provided that this nomenclature allows us to accurately describe our activity and can be modified according to our needs. Although the PMSI is a marked improvement of the information system, its application, in its current state, will not radically change the situation. The PMSI must be enlarged in one way or another, to outpatient activity including procedures performed in the outpatients department. For these measuring tools of activity, which determine the calculation of our budgets, to be adapted to our practice, we must be able to analyse their relevance and introduce changes. We need to develop this field of medico-economic research in urology.

Quality of life is not a question of fashion but rather a new perception of the effects of health care. Unfortunately, currently developed means of assessing health status only rarely englobe quality of life assessment and when they do, still need much improvement. Modelization is a difficult task and requires a long scientific approach. In order to achieve the goal of reliable quality of life assessment, the different professional colleges should work together with methodologists to identify assessment criteria and include them in future clinical research protocols.

The re-usability of lexicons and knowledge in medicine is a crucial challenge. The Unified Medical Language System (UMLS) project has attempted to provide a repository of concepts, semantically categorized for biomedical domain. This paper describes some results about the relevance of UMLS structures for specific purposes. We have focused on the description of surgical procedures. Discussion concerns synonymy of terms, granularity of concepts, and ontology. A preliminary work on the exploitation of interconcept links by a computerized application reveals a heterogeneous implementation of those relationships. However, the UMLS provides a powerful knowledge base for developers.