BJU international
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Comparative Study
Assessment of lower urinary tract symptoms in men by international prostate symptom score and core lower urinary tract symptom score.
Study Type - Therapy (symptom prevalence). Level of Evidence 2a. What's known on the subject? and What does the study add? The International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS) has been most commonly used for the symptom assessment of men with lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS). However, LUTS in men are so variable that they may not be fully captured by the IPSS questionnaire alone. This study has demonstrated that the Core Lower Urinary Tract Symptom Score (CLSS) questionnaire, which addresses 10 important symptoms, is an appropriate initial assessment tool for LUTS in men with various diseases/conditions. ⋯ CLSS questionnaire is more comprehensive than IPSS questionnaire for symptom assessment of men with various diseases/conditions, although both questionnaires can capture LUTS with possible negative impact on QOL.
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Comparative Study
Comparison of percutaneous nephrolithotomy and retrograde flexible nephrolithotripsy for the management of 2-4 cm stones: a matched-pair analysis.
Study Type--Therapy (case control). Level of Evidence 3b. What's known on the subject? and What does the study add? Recently European Association of Urology 2011 guidelines on urolithiasis recommended retrograde intrarenal surgery as the second-line therapy for the treatment of kidney stones <10 mm in diameter. This study shows that retrograde intrarenal surgery may be an alternative therapy to percutaneous nephrolithotomy, with acceptable efficacy and low morbidity for 2-4 cm stones. ⋯ • Satisfactory outcomes can be achieved with multi-session RIRS in the treatment of 2-4 cm renal stones. RIRS can be used as an alternative treatment to PCNL in selected cases with larger renal stones.
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What's known on the subject? And what does the study add? We have previously shown that percutaneous radiofrequency ablation guided by image-fusion technology allows for precise needle placement with real time ultrasound superimposed with pre-loaded imaging, removing the need for real-time CT or MR guidance. Emerging technology also allows real-time tracking of a treatment needle within an organ in a virtually created 3D format. To our knowledge, this is the first study utilising a sophisticated ultrasound-based navigation system that uses both image-fusion and real-time probe-tracking technologies for in-vivo renal ablative intervention. ⋯ • Percutaneous renal RFA guided exclusively by real-time 2D US with multiplanar Global Positioning System-like probe tracking is feasible and accurate. • Near-future technologies, including elastic fusion overlay and anticipation of soft-tissue deformation, will further augment this guidance system.