Letter from the Editor - August 2013

Dear Colleagues,

At the height of the summer, we hope you all have a chance to enjoy some time off and recharge your batteries! We at UroToday International Journal are not slowing down much at any time of the year but are proud to continue bringing our readership an interesting and educational mix of articles and case-reports in the field of urology and urologic oncology.

We also would like to remind everyone to view UIJ on the social media outlets Facebook and Twitter, and follow us and the breaking news posted there.

In this issue, Pujari et al. analyzed the utility of tamsulosin in patients with pelvic floor urethral distraction injuries (PFUDD) undergoing voiding cystourethrograms to assess the posterior urethra for length of the distraction defect. They concluded that tamsulosin effectively relaxed the bladder neck and allowed the delineation of the posterior urethra in patients of PFUDD with a competent bladder neck. This prevented the patients from undergoing further invasive diagnostic techniques (bougiogram and antegrade cystourethroscopy).  

Sharma et al. prospectively evaluated the safety, feasibility, and efficacy of day care/ambulatory tubeless percutaneous nephrolithotomy. They conclude it is a feasible and effective option that can safely be offered to patients, providing uncomplicated surgery and favorable postoperative parameters.

A retrospective chart review was completed by Logan et al. to analyze their institutional renal cell carcinoma (RCC) database to determine how consistently aberrations in aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) values were present when metastatic RCC was present. They found that AST, ALT, and ALP are unreliable in suggesting the presence of metastatic RCC lesions in liver or bone, and underscore the importance of imaging.

Lodh et al. aimed to identify independent predictors of unsuccessful trial without catheter (TWOC) in men with acute urinary retention secondary to benign prostate hyperplasia. Their study suggested that age, intravesical prostatic protrusion, transition zone volume, transition zone index, and residual urine volume are significant risk factors for unsuccessful TWOC.

To reduce the OAB symptoms and to estimate safety and tolerability of non-invasive treatment, Kosilov et al. evaluated the use of combined antimuscarinics as the alternative to single agent treatment in elderly OAB patients. They found that the majority of elderly patients were treated successfully with combined high-dosage antimuscarinics. In addition, the quantity of side effects was comparable to that of normal-dosed antimuscarinics.

Pujari et al. performed a prospective study in an attempt to revise the serum PSA cut off level to suit the Asian population. The cut off level of serum PSA beyond which investigations are warranted in Asians is controversial at present and further multicenter trials involving a larger number of patients must be carried out to arrive at a consensus, since blindly following the current Western literature results in unnecessary interventions in this patient population.

A simple and safe technique of male urethral catheterization only requiring equipment readily available in every urology department is described by Gardi et al.

Finally, in a Letter to the Editor, McLean et al. discuss the parental attitudes toward fertility preservation in boys with cancer. Most parents of pediatric oncology patients are under-informed about fertility implications of cancer therapy, and most would want their son to undergo fertility preservation. Predictably, increased infertility risk and increased theoretical success rate both independently increase parents’ interest.

We also present a series of case studies that include various topics, including en-bloc kidney transplantation, isolated ano-vaginal fistula, renal pelvis squamous cell carcinoma, and giant leiomyoma of ureter.

It is our primary goal to publish original studies, and we encourage you to submit the results of clinical or basic science research in all areas of urology. I personally thank the authors and reviewers for their valuable contributions to this issue.

Warm Regards, 

Karl-Erik Andersson