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Editorial: Conventional laparoscopic surgery – more pain, no gain!

Advances in surgical technology have revolutionized the way surgery is performed today. Conventional laparoscopic surgery dominated the surgical paradigm for several decades, until robot-assisted surgery created the next giant leap. In the pressent article, Elhage et al. [1] compare and correlate physical stress and surgical performances among three modes of a standardized surgical step. Their study shows the obvious physical strain and technical limitations faced while performing conventional laparoscopic surgery, subsequently leading to compromised surgical outcomes. The physical impact of conventional laparoscopic surgery has been well documented through surgeon feedback as well as ergonomic assessment [2, 3]. Various studies have reported that higher physical stress, associated with ergonomic limitations, is experienced when performing conventional laparoscopy compared to the comfort and ease of robot-assisted surgery, as highlighted in the present study. Increased workload has also been associated with performance errors, with a steep learning curve needed to achieve surgical excellence during conventional laparoscopy [4].

Currently, the use of robot-assisted surgery is on the rise, as an alternative to both open and conventional laparoscopic surgery across the developed world, despite its obvious economic limitations. Better ergonomics during robot-assisted surgery will increase the comfort of the surgeon, but the future of surgery may easily be linked to the improvements experienced by all of us in the automobile industry. Developments, from manual gear-clutch control to automatic speed control and the luxury of adaptive cruise control today, make us safe drivers with minimal physical stress. The concept of adaptive cruise control, which adjusts the speed of a vehicle in relation to its surroundings, sounds similar to the leap from manual camera control during conventional laparoscopy to console-based control during camera navigation in robot-assisted surgery. With advances in the speed and size of computers, pneumatic-based joint mechanics and mindfulness meditation on the horizon, it will not be long before surgeons will sit back and watch the marvel of the machine. Surgeons just need to learn to hold on to their seats!

Syed J. Raza*, Khurshid A. Guru† anRobert P. Huben†
*Fellow, †Endowed Professor of Urologic Oncology, Department of Urology and A.T.L.A.S (Applied Technology Laboratory for Advanced Surgery) Program, Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Buffalo, NY, USA

 

References

 

2 Plerhoples TA, Hernandez-Boussard T, Wren SM. The aching surgeon: a survey of physical discomfort and symptoms following open, laparoscopic and robotic surgery.

J Robotic Surg 2012; 6: 65–723 Hubert N, Gilles M, Desbrosses K, Meyer JP, Felblinger J, Hubert J. Ergonomic assessment of the surgeon’s physical workload during standard and robotic assisted laparoscopic procedures. Int J Med Robot 2013; 9:142–147

4 Yurko YY, Scerbo MW, Prabhu AS, Acker CE, Stefanidis D. Higher mental workload is associated with poorer laparoscopic performance as measured by the NASA-TLX tool. Simul Healthc 2010; 5: 267–271

 

You may have heard it on the grapevine, but UroVine is now here

UroVinePic3I was first introduced to Vine by my good friend Dr Fernando Gomez Sancha over a very enjoyable dinner in Milan during the European Association of Urology meeting in March 2013.  I thought that the concept was interesting and signed up on the spot.

Vine is a relatively new social media platform that allows users to create and share 6 second videos loops.  It brings out amazing creativity with the very restrictive maximum 6 second video duration. It is not dissimilar to the Twitter where users have to work within the content limits of the platform where one only has a 140 character to make a point. However, Twitter is probably a lot easier than trying to create 6 second video content.

Although signed up to a Vine account, I did not use it very much initially.  I was still a little unsure as to how I was going to be able make use of it either for personal or professional use.  Gradually over time, I started playing around and making some personal Vine clips, mainly at concerts or at sports events.  They were not particularly well thought out Vines and certainly of limited interest. I also tweeted a few of these Vines and I was impressed by the integration of Vine videos on the Twitter platform.  I should not have been surprised since Twitter owns Vine.

On Twitter, one can watch a Vine loop video without having to click a link out of the App or website as is the case for say YouTube. Additionally, the short Vine clips were a perfect match for Twitter users who wanted small bite sized content in this time poor world. I then became fascinated with Vine having this repetitious loop – it is almost captivating to the extent that you cannot help but to watch at least 3 or more loops. The first loop is like “what was that”, the second loop is like “I think it’s what I thought I saw” and third loop is like “I get it” and the fourth loop is because you could not work out exactly when the third loop ended and accidentally watched it for an additional time. Have a look some Vine clips and you will then understand what I mean.

This repetition had me thinking about how can we find a medical education application to this platform. The answer was really in Twitter. The best way was to use Twitter and Vine together. If a specific Twitter account were to be created to link to specific Vines, we could create a powerful medical education tool. The repetitious nature of the video loop enables us to reinforce a learning point.

On 3 February 2015, #UroVine was established using the account @UroVine. Vine clips have already been tweeted associated with key learning points. I would love to hear your feedback and to have your Vines submitted for tweeting.

UroVinePic1

Making a Vine is very simple. It does not have to be HD or have cinema ready professional production. The simplest thing to do is to take your mobile phone with the Vine App and to shoot selected video running off your laptop. More important is that there needs to be clear learning point that needs to reinforced.

UroVinePic2

The combined use of Twitter and Vine specifically for medical education has the potential to be a very powerful tool. With recent provision of Twitter Activity metrics for each tweet and Vine loop data, there is the potential for some interesting analysis. It is my belief that this is a first and once again a demonstration that Urology is leading the way with innovation in medical education and social media. I hope you will join us.

Henry Woo (@drhwoo) is Associate Professor of Surgery at the Sydney Adventist Hospital Clinical School of the University of Sydney. He is the Editor in Chief of BJUI Knowledge, an innovative on-line CME portal that launches this year.

 

Social media makes global urology meetings truly global

Loeb_photoThe use of social media continues to expand in urology and the BJUI is proud to be at the forefront of these efforts. All of the global urology meetings now have their own twitter feed, which is indexed using a ‘hashtag’ (e.g. #EAU14, #AUA14). Analogous to a Medical Subject Heading (MeSH) in PubMed, hashtags are used to categorise related tweets together in one place, providing a convenient way to follow conference proceedings.

Surrounding the 2014 European Association of Urology (EAU) Congress (9–16 April 2014), there were a record 5749 tweets from 761 unique contributors. The BJUI and its editorial team represented four of the top 10 social media influencers based on the number of times that they were mentioned in the #EAU14 conference twitter feed.

Social media engagement continued to grow to new heights at the 2014 AUA meeting. From 14–23 May 2014, there were a total of 10 364 tweets from 1199 unique contributors in the #AUA14 conference twitter feed. The BJUI and its editorial team represented six of the top 10 influencers based on the total number of mentions.

In addition to urology conferences, the BJUI continues to actively participate in social media throughout the year. We provide a variety of specialised content such as videos, picture quizzes, and polls, as well as free access to the ‘Article of the Week’. This provides a great way to stay up-to-date on the latest research in a dynamic, interactive setting.

Finally, I would like to call your attention to two ‘Articles of the Week’ featured in this issue of BJUI, both of which will be freely available and open to discussion on twitter. The first by Kates et al. [1] deals with the interesting question of the optimal follow-up protocol during active surveillance. Using yearly biopsy results from the Johns Hopkins active surveillance programme, they report what proportion of reclassification events would have been detected had the Prostate Cancer Research International Active Surveillance (PRIAS) protocol been used instead (including less frequent biopsies and PSA kinetics).

Another feature ‘Article of the Week’ by Eisenberg et al. [2] addresses the controversial link between testosterone therapy and prostate cancer risk. Among men undergoing hormonal testing at their institution, they used data from the Texas Cancer Registry to compare the rates of malignancy between those who were and were not using testosterone supplementation. We hope that these articles will stimulate an interesting discussion and encourage you to join us on twitter.

Dr. Stacy Loeb is an Assistant Professor of Urology and Population Health at New York University and is a Consulting Editor for BJUI. Follow her on Twitter @LoebStacy

 

Editorial: Opening the flood gates – HLE is superior to PVP for the treatment of CUR

With the expansion in laser technology for treating symptomatic BPH, there are now two main techniques available to the budding urologist. Yet the management of chronic urinary retention (CUR) remains a significant challenge. In this issue of BJUI Jaeger et al. [1]present a retrospective study comparing holmium laser enucleation of the prostate (HoLEP) and photoselective vaporization of the prostate (PVP; using XPS 180 watt and HPS 120 watt systems) in the treatment of CUR.

Both HoLEP and PVP are now well-established treatment methods. Although PVP has seen a greater level of acceptance because of its shorter learning period, its use remains limited by prostate size and concerns about long-term durability. In contrast the favourable and enduring outcomes reported for HoLEP have meant that it is gaining recognition as the new ‘gold standard’ surgical treatment for BPH. Whilst PVP ablates the tissue laterally from the prostatic urethra, HoLEP involves an anatomical enucleation of all the prostatic adenoma before morcellation.

Over the past decade, there has been a shift towards medical management of BPH. Despite the resultant increase in numbers of men developing CUR, best practice for this challenging and clinically important group remains highly debated. The term CUR is used to describe a constellation of presentations, and current imprecise, even arbitrary, definitions make the interpretation of existing studies difficult. Historically, CUR has been almost universally excluded from trials because of the anticipation of poor outcomes and high complication rates, while the presence of detrusor hypotonia, particularly with low-pressure retention, has led to concerns of treatment failure following surgery. This dilemma for urologists has been aggravated by conflicting evidence in the published literature [2].

Jaeger et al. [1] assessed all patients with CUR who were treated in their institution either with HoLEP (72 patients) or PVP (31 patients). CUR was defined as a persistent post-void residual urine volume (PVR) >300 mL or urinary retention refractory to multiple voiding trials. While preoperative urodynamic studies were not routinely performed, those patients found to have low bladder contractility or acontractility were not excluded.

Both HoLEP and PVP produced similarly effective outcomes in terms of symptom score improvement, PVR reduction and Qmax increase in voiding patients. Complication rates were also similar in the two groups (15 and 26% for HoLEP and PVP, respectively, P = 0.27), but, importantly, HoLEP was shown to offer substantially better rates of spontaneous voiding than PVP, 99 vs 74% of patients, in spite of a lower median bladder contractility index in the HoLEP group (73 vs 90, P = 0.012).

Both PVP and HoLEP have previously been studied in isolation in treating patients with CUR. Whilst Woo et al. [3] demonstrated significant reductions in PVR after PVP (GreenLight HPS 120-W), the presence of detrusor under-activity was not established. Outcomes after PVP in patients with urodynamically proven detrusor hypotonia have been shown to be significantly worse than in patients with normal detrusor funtion [4].

The effectiveness of HoLEP has been shown in treating CUR secondary to BPH in a large study of 169 patients with symptom score improvements of 159% and spontaneous voiding in 98.25% [5]. Furthermore, even in patients with proven impaired bladder contractility, HoLEP led to spontaneous voiding in 95% [6] at least in the short term.

The findings from the present study further support the use of HoLEP specifically in CUR. Jaeger et al. are the first to compare the two technologies head on, albeit in a non-randomised study, in the treatment of CUR. Whilst both treatments showed reasonable efficacy despite low or absent bladder contractility in a number of patients, a significant advantage was seen with HoLEP, with the total removal of any obstructing tissue. These results were unaffected by the presence of preoperative impaired bladder on urodynamic studies. This study suggests that HoLEP is superior to PVP in the treatment of CUR, probably because of the larger prostatic channel that enucleation produces. Measurement of postoperative PSA readings would have been a useful addition to illustrate this. Nevertheless, the findings add to the growing body of evidence to support the use of HoLEP in treating CUR, irrespective of preoperative bladder function.

Read the full article

Nicholas Raison and Ben Challacombe

Urology Department, Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Trust, Guy’s Hospital, Great Maze Pond, London, UK

References

1 Jaeger CD, Mitchell CR, Mynderse LA, Krambeck AE. Holmium laser enucleation and photoselective vaporization of the prostate for patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia and chronic urinary retention. BJU Int 2015; 115: 295–9

2 Ghalayini IF, Al-Ghazo MA, Pickard RS. A prospective randomized trial comparing transurethral prostatic resection and clean intermittent self-catheterization in men with chronic urinary retention. BJU Int 2005; 96: 93–7

3 Woo H, Reich O, Bachmann A et al. Outcome of GreenLight HPS 120-W laser therapy in specific patient populations: those in retention, on anticoagulants, and with large prostates (≥ 80 ml). Eur Urol Suppl 2008; 7: 378–83

4 Monoski MA, Gonzalez RR, Sandhu JS, Reddy B, Te AE. Urodynamic predictors of outcomes with photoselective laser vaporization prostatectomy in patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia and preoperative retention. Urology 2006; 68: 312–7

5 Elzayat EA, Habib EI, Elhilali MM. Holmium laser enucleation of prostate for patients in urinary retention. Urology 2005; 66: 789–93

6 Mitchell CR, Mynderse LA, Lightner DJ, Husmann DA, Krambeck AE. Efficacy of holmium laser enucleation of the prostate in patients with non-neurogenic impaired bladder contractility: results of a prospective trial. Urology 2014; 83: 428–32

Kenny Rogers’ Law of Surgical Practice

james-duthieAlthough not a Country Music fanatic, I would like to acknowledge the contribution that Kenny Rogers, elder statesman of the genre, has made to the practice of modern surgery. I refer to his insightful song, and subsequent film, The Gambler. For the uninitiated, the song describes a chance meeting between a world-weary professional card player and an aspiring young gambler. If you are gambling lover then you may know Bitbola is a sbobet88 Mobile Indonesia site that provides a variety of online gambling games such as Sportsbook, Online Casino, Agile Ball, Online Poker, Online Togel, Cockfightingand many more, with a minimum deposit of only 25 thousand. There are so many benefits to be gained when you join Bitbola. For now, Bitbola is the Official SBOBET Mobile site in Indonesia which is well-known among all online gambling lovers. People are loving to play w88 games. The older man gifts the younger with pearls of wisdom on winning at cards, culminating in a chorus stating that a player needs to “know when to hold ‘em, know when to fold ‘em, know when to walk away, know when to run”. I am not for a minute condoning the practice of surgeons literally running away from their patients, however strong the urge, but I do think some of the other sentiments are instructional in our practice.

The number and sort of games available at CasinoLuck is one among their main strengths. the utilization of NetEnt and Microgaming software means you’ll have access to all or any the newest video slot titles. Some of my personal favourites that I played here include Book of Dead, Gonzo’s Quest, Eye of Horus and therefore the Goonies slot. That’s just me though, and if you favor other titles then likelihood is that they’ll be there too. There really are that a lot of to settle on from. In terms of table games, i feel there have been something like 30 differing types of Blackjack available, including single deck Blackjack which provides the simplest RTP. there have been also quite few roulette options, Baccarat and video poker. It’s also worth remarking that you simply start earning VIP points from the instant you begin playing at CasinoLuck. There are 7 levels to the present program, and if you manage to urge all the high to Prestige VIP then you’ll receive some pretty amazing offers. David is the editor and heads up the testing team here at Mobile Betting Site, Click here to read full David’s report.

Many gamblers enjoy going to a formal casino, but they are finding that a good casino on-line site can offer them just as much fun as the brick and mortar casinos, but all from the convenience of home. Both novice gamblers who are in the process of learning new games and mastering ones that they are somewhat familiar with, and the seasoned gamblers will find sites that offer challenging and high-roller tournaments that they will enjoy. These web-based casinos offer so many benefits that give players some great incentives to continue playing – and winning!

Available Games

When the players are looking at a casino on-line, they will find numerous Poker games, Blackjack, Baccarat, Keno, Pai Gow, and a variety of games that all levels of players can enjoy. Also take a look at the site to see the various types of slot games and video slot games that have great odds and offer a wide range of table and slot rates to play. The best sites allow players to play for fee while they are learning the games and there are no limitations to how long they can play for fee before they are required to deposit money.

Bonuses and Incentives

In general, players will try out a number of on-line casinos before finding one that they feel the most comfortable depositing money and one that they are offered the best incentives and bonuses. Many sites offer matching bonuses and a variety of incentives to continue playing at that site. Other sites have betting requirements before the players can withdraw the money they have won – be sure to read and understand the requirements for deposits and withdrawals before putting money into the site. Also, consider the minimum wagers for the sites (particularly good for beginners) and the maximum bets allowed that experienced gamblers will find more challenging. Look for sites that have monthly bonuses, loyalty incentives, and provide a variety of reasons (in addition to high-quality games and safety) to entice the gambler to return to their site.

The revelation came to me as a student, staying in the hospital late with the senior surgical trainee on call, hoping for something exciting to come through the door. Late that night, a very elderly, frail woman arrived shocked, in agony, confused, combative, and in multi-organ failure. The CT showed a significant portion of her small bowel was ischaemic. The trainee drilled me on management options; thrombolysis or endovascular techniques were impractical here, leaving only extensive resection; anastomosis with proximal diversion. Of course this would be a high-output stoma with associated high loss of fluid and electrolytes, difficult to manage, she would be a poor candidate for elective reversal… It did occur to me that this was going to be tough on the poor lady, and probably even futile, but a student can’t say “let’s just keep her comfortable” on a surgical rotation. The trainee had the experience and humility to suggest it himself. He confirmed my predictions of failed extubation, a prolonged ICU admission with worsening multi-organ failure, debates about whether to dialyse, increasing vasopressor and inotrope support, undying hope from the family that she would “turn the corner”, until finally a wrecked shell of a human being would succumb to an unavoidable complication of her treatment. “Sometimes, you’ve got to know when to call it quits”. This inspired me. “You’ve got to know when to hold ‘em, know when to fold ‘em?”. “Exactly”, he replied, and Kenny Rogers’ Law was born.

A mentor of mine once said, “there is no medical condition that can not be made worse with a poorly conceived operation”. This is the doctrine I cling to when feeling pressured to “push the envelope”, or attempt “heroic surgery” in the face of good sense. The most important factor influencing surgical outcomes is patient selection. Poor substrate results in poor results. The problem is that complex surgical problems often come wrapped in the most sympathetic, heart-breaking packaging. The delightful lady with a neurological disorder who is really fed up with the urinary diversion she had twenty years ago. The poor old fellow who can’t bear his nephrostomy. The tearful wife who asks if there is anything, ANYTHING you can do for him? At a departmental meeting it might be easy to assess these cases in a cold academic light, and rightly recommend against intervention. But then you don’t have to face the desperate human face of suffering at the meeting.

A surgeon I know who has a million useful platitudes once told me that if I was planning to do a surgery, but was not sure of the wisdom of it, to say out loud what I was going to do in the past tense with the preface, “well, Your Honour…” If you have never done this, I recommend it. “Well, Your Honour, I know she was morbidly obese and had had multiple laparotomies in the past with significant adhesion disease, and was admitted to the ICU with profound sepsis each time, but even though her dexterity is too poor for her to effectively self-catheterise, I thought it would be worth trying to reverse her ileal conduit and perform a clam cystoplasty. She was really sick of her conduit.”

As doctors, rather than just surgeons, sometimes our role is to convince a patient that however bad they think things are, we could certainly make things worse for them. Undoing an operation and its complications is usually not easy, and often impossible. Better to know when to fold ‘em.

 

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Editorial: Geography – an increasingly important variable in prostate cancer clinical trials

Enzalutamide is approved in the post-docetaxel phase for men with metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) in North America (NA) and the European Union (EU). Merseburger et al. [1] now take a first look at comparing the efficacy and safety of enzalutamide in EU and NA patients treated in the AFFIRM trial. AFFIRM was a phase III double-blind, placebo-controlled multinational trial evaluating whether enzalutamide prolongs overall survival (OS) in men with mCRPC after docetaxel chemotherapy. This post hocexploratory analysis found a consistent OS benefit in both NA- and EU-treated patients. The safety profile was comparable in both regions.

Interestingly, the median OS appeared longer in the EU as compared with the NA cohort (‘not yet reached’ vs 17.4 months). With the placebo group in the EU the median survival was 16.2 vs 12.3 months in the NA cohort (3.9 months different). Direct statistical comparisons between regions were not performed but a median survival difference of 3.9 months is not inconsequential. Notably, drugs have been approved with lesser difference in OS.

The populations in AFFIRM have some baseline differences that may be of importance; the median time from diagnosis to randomisation was 68.9 months in the EU cohort vs 78.0 months in the NA cohort. Thus, it was possible that the NA cohort was ‘further along’ in the natural history of the disease despite apparently being well-balanced according to most baseline variables. The NA cohort was slightly more likely to have higher Gleason scores (50.6%) vs the EU cohort (44.0%), suggesting perhaps a slight difference in disease aggressiveness. It is also interesting that cardiac disease was present in 23.3% of the NA cohort vs only 7.2% of the EU cohort. Is it possible that cardiovascular diseases also contributed to a relative increase in mortality in the NA cohort? With regard to the post-protocol therapies, the use of abiraterone was more common in the EU cohort (30.5% of patients in the placebo group subsequently received abiraterone in the EU cohort vs 19.7% in the NA cohort). However, utilisation of cabazitaxel was more common in NA than in the EU (20.5% vs 9.9%). Some combination of pre-treatment and post-protocol variables in AFFIRM is probably the explanation for geographic variations in OS. Protocol treatments were well defined but these variables were not controlled.

These results in AFFIRM should also be considered in the context of geographic differences in medical care that may alter results and/or interpretation of phase III trials. Some of these differences have been previously documented in other phase III mCRPC trials. For instance, the recent phase III trials with orteronel reported no OS differences in the overall study [2]. However, in certain geographic regions (with less access to the newer life-prolonging drugs), the orteronel trials were clearly positive for the OS endpoint. In the TROPIC trial, cabazitaxel was associated with higher febrile neutropenia rates in some EU countries as compared with the USA. This was primarily due to geographic differences in prophylactic administration of granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) [3]. For the ALSYMPCA trial, striking geographic differences were noted in the timing (pre- or post-docetaxel) of radium-223 utilisation [4].

Understanding prognosis and treatment outcomes is increasingly critical in the design and interpretation of phase III clinical trials and particularly amongst trials that are designed to support regulatory approvals. Region or country where treatment takes place is an important variable to consider, especially if approved pre- and post-protocol treatments are not the same. This issue is even more important if the course of the disease is long (as in prostate cancer) and there are different treatments available from country to country.

Read the full article

Oliver Sartor, Sumanta Kumar Pal*, Terhi Hermanson† and Charles L. Bennett‡,

Tulane Medical School, New Orleans, LA, *City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center, Duarte, CA, USA; † Helsinki University Central University, Helsinki, Finland; and ‡ College of Pharmacy, Medical University of South Carolina Cancer Center, Charleston, SC, USA

References

1 Merseburger AS, Scher HI, Bellmunt J et al. Enzalutamide in European and North American men participating in the AFFIRM trial. BJU Int 2015; 115: 41–9

2 Fizazi K, Jones R, Oudard S et al. Regional differences observed in the phase 3 trial (ELM-PC 5) with orteronel (TAK-700) plus prednisone in patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) that has progressed during or following docetaxel. ASCO Meeting Abstracts. J Clin Oncol 2014; 32 (Suppl.): 5s (abstr 5042). Available at: https://meetinglibrary.asco.org/content/126314-144. Accessed November 2014

3 Ozguroglu M, Oudard S, Sartor AO et al. Effect of G-CSF prophylaxis on the occurrence of neutropenia in men receiving cabazitaxel plus prednisone for the treatment of metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) in the TROPIC study. ASCO Meeting Abstracts. J Clin Oncol 2011; 29 (Suppl.): abstr 144. Available at: https://meetinglibrary .asco.org/content/72386-104. Accessed November 2014

4 Parker C, Nilsson S, Heinrich D et al. Alpha emitter radium-223 and survival in metastatic prostate cancer. N Engl J Med 2013; 369: 213–23

 

Into Africa: Engaging with urology in the developing world

A version of this blog has also been published on the Trends in Urology and Men’s Health site

We have just completed a superb RSM winter meeting on the East African ‘Spice Island’ of Zanzibar. In addition to exciting updates in urological practice within the UK, the president of Zanzibar attended the meeting to give a fascinating insight into the history, problems and challenges facing Zanzibar.

However it was our interaction with local healthcare professionals during our visits to the islands hospitals which made the focus of the meeting (urology in the developing world) especially poignant. Delegates had the opportunity to visit the Mnazi Mmoja Hospital in Stone Town, where workshops were held with local doctors, as well as more rural hospitals in Makunduchi and Kivunge. The delegates at the meeting were joined by colleagues from South Africa, mainland Tanzania, two English and one American urologist who have dedicated a significant proportion of their professional lives to healthcare in Africa.

Professor Joseph Smith from Tennessee has worked from Liberiato Malawi and the DRC to Ethiopia over the years. He has faced war, floods and now Ebola. His efforts to affect lasting change through training have been further challenged by the issue of retention of doctors, many of whom can earn up to a hundred times their salary overseas.

Professor Gordon Williams OBE, has concentrated his efforts in Ethiopia where he has lived for the last seven years. He was heavily involved with the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital, which was established by American missionary doctors Reginald and Catherine Hamlin in 1974 for the treatment of vesico-vaginal fistulae (VVF). Patients with VVF and severe urinary incontinence (secondary to obstructed labour or sexual abuse) if untreated, are often rendered outcasts from their communities. Professor Williams’ gave a superb presentation on his former pioneering work at the fistula hospital and the holistic approach to patient management, reflected by patients’ extensive mental, physical and social rehabilitation pre and post-operatively. His team’s work has undeniably transformed the lives of thousands of women. Yet as Gordon reaches the end of his career, there is no natural successor in place.

Mr Ru McDonough (consultant urologist, UK) has had a professional relationship with Zanzibar for two decades. The success of his charity HIPZ (Health Improvement Project Zanzibar) (@HIPZ_UK) is testament to his engagement with the health ministry in identifying realistic local healthcare needs. They have proposed incentivised, financially viable, strategic projections for growth with quantifiable outcome measures. HIPZ has leased two rural hospitals from the government and successfully initiated ambitious restructuring and building projects.

We also heard from Dr Frank Bright from Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre (KCMC) and Suzie Venn and Phil Thomas (from the UK) about their biennial urological education workshops at the KCMC where core surgical skills are taught to urologists from all over East Africa.

All four endeavours are praiseworthy and clearly have had a positive impact on the lives of many patients. The opportunity to listen firsthand to their accounts and visit local facilities, prompted informal discussions amongst peers around how we as professionals might best support sustained healthcare improvement projects overseas.

Is it, for example, sufficient to visit intermittently in an attempt to clear the backlog of difficult cases that have accumulated since the last such trip? Should we be focusing our efforts on providing complex surgical procedures when many hospitals are lacking in basic supplies/sanitation?  How can we work transparently with governments on a wider scale to improve healthcare provision and health promotion?

Ultimately, it may be that these issues are so inextricably linked with a country’s financial performance that meaningful progress will only result from improving economies and political stability. Perhaps our primary aim should be to support solutions generated by and within individual communities and countries.

 


In this short video, Mark Speakman (President of BAUS) discusses the healthcare system of the island, particularly the work of the charity HIPZ. Correction: ‘The healthcare spending per capita in 2013 was $8500 in the USA, $3400 in the UK and $30 in Zanzibar!

 

Main Hospital in Zanzibar

 


Conference attendees

 


President of Zanzibar Dr. Ali Mohamed Shein addressing RSM delegates

 

Clarissa Martyn-Hemphill – Core Trainee, Whipp’s Cross – @Cmartynhemphill

Dominic Hodgson – Consultant Urologist, Portsmouth – @hodgson_dominic

 

 

A #RadOnc Movember

The #RadOnc Journal Club continued its success in Movember with over 700 tweets from 60 participants in a three-day discussion on smoking and prostate cancer radiation treatment outcomes. Thanks to the generosity of the BJUI (@BJUIJournal) and Prof. Prokar Dasgupta (@prokarurol), the study of a large retrospective cohort of localized prostate cancer patients who received external beam radiation treatment from Memorial Sloan Kettering (@sloan _kettering) was open-access and engaged a wide audience.

Background discussion started Friday and covered a variety of topics including limiting treatment toxicity:

Sharing best practices on the role of radiation treatment from around the world:

The state of tobacco use:

And smoking cessation from an interdisciplinary audience:

On Sunday, the community came together for a live discussion with study author Emily Steinberger (@easteinberger). Participants explored roles for radiation treatment and the reduction of side effects including hypofractionated treatment and current guidelines for IMRT:


Practice patterns in patient assessment stressed the importance of a tobacco history. These encounters created an opportunity for cessation counselling as opposed to guiding treatment decisions while recognizing the threat of information overload.


The conversation then moved to the study. Results showed current-smokers had a higher PSA relapse rate (HR 1.37 compared to former or non-smokers), more distant metastases (DM-free survival 72% vs. 87% in never-smokers), and higher cancer specific mortality (HR 2.25). There were a few surprises including finding no significant differences based on pack-years smoked and that only current as opposed to former smoking status mattered.

Study strengths included a large cohort of 2358 similarly-treated patients; 91% having documented smoking histories. Limitations included the retrospective design, especially considering the long natural history of prostate cancer and risk of development of confounding comorbidities. Also an important reminder:

Conversations concluded with considerations for future practice:


Research:


With a little #RadOnc humor in-between.

We recognize the quality contributions from all members of our community. For their leadership during this chat, congratulations to Dr. Jay Detsky (@JayDetsky) and Dr. Mohammad Alfayez (@alfayezmo) who received the Jerry Maguire Award for their evidence-based tweets. (“Show me the data!!!”) The Francis Peabody award went to Dr. Jonathan Livergant (@jpil) and Dr. Jarad Martin (@DocJarad) for the best clinical tweets. We will be looking forward to more lively conversations in the New Year!

The #RadOnc Journal Club was first proposed at the Yale Department of Therapeutic Radiology in April 2014 to leverage published evidence and stimulate discussion on key topics in radiation oncology. It became part of Radiation Nation – a community founded by Dr. Matthew Katz (@subatomicdoc) dedicated to improve cancer care through online collaborative conversations on education, medical practice, and quality and safety improvement for patients, caregivers, and medical professionals. Interest grew globally and in September, where we bridged cultural divides by encouraging conversations in multiple languages. Today, we routinely have participation from over 5 countries during the #RadOnc Journal Club and on Radiation Nation blog.

Ian Pereira is an R2 resident in Radiation Oncology at Queen’s University, Kingston, Canada. He believes that education is a basis for progress in health and care, and is interested in leveraging new technologies including social media in medical education.

 

A big thank you to all our 2014 reviewers

Peer review is a critical part of the publishing process for any major journal and BJUI is no exception. We are fortunate to have a large and dedicated team of expert reviewers who give up their time and energy to help us bring you the best articles in the field.

In 2014, BJUI used 2059 different peer reviewers and we are extremely grateful to them all for their time and expertise.

The reviewers listed below are the most prolific and fastest of our 2014 reviewers and are our “Top Reviewers” for the year.

The full list of reviewers can be accessed by clicking the button at the bottom.

Hashim Ahmed Misop Han Ashley Ross
Kamran Ahmed Paul Hegarty Morgan Roupret
Peter Albertsen Jose Karam Paul Russo
Conrad Bishop Nathan Lawrentschuk Majid Shabbir
Matthew Bultitude Stacy Loeb Jay Smith
Ben Challacombe Yair Lotan Mark Soloway
Justin Collins Graeme MacLennan Mark Speakman
Ithaar Derweesh Declan Murphy Houston Thompson
Stephen Freedland Richard Popert Nick Watkin
Giorgio Gandaglia Abhay Rane
Khurshid Guru Amrith Rao

 

BJUI Peer Reviewers 2014

 

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