Publications by authors named "Alyssa S Louis"

Background: Internal Medicine (IM) residents are required to perform bedside procedures for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. Residents' experiences with procedures vary widely, for unclear reasons.

Objective: To explore IM residents' experiences with performing bedside procedures and to identify barriers and facilitators to obtaining sufficient experience.

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Objective: To quantify distress in men treated with radical prostatectomy (RP) or active surveillance (AS).

Methods: In a retrospective cross-sectional design, we assessed men through questionnaire and investigator-designed questions.

Results: RP patients worried more about cancer spread than AS patients.

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Introduction: It is unclear whether health-related quality of life (HRQoL) outcomes are superior in robot-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP) compared to open prostatectomy (ORP).

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed records from men who received ORP or RARP at our institution between January 2009 and December 2012. Patients completed a demographics questionnaire and the Patient-Oriented Prostate Utility Scale (PORPUS), a validated disease-specific HRQoL instrument prior to surgery and every 3 months up to 15 months after surgery.

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Objective: Focal therapy is an emerging approach to the treatment of localized prostate cancer. The purpose of this study was to report the 6-month follow-up oncologic and functional data of the initial phase 1 trial of patients treated with focal transrectal MRI-guided focused ultrasound in North America.

Subjects And Methods: Four patients with a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level of 10 ng/mL or less, tumor classification cT2a or less, and a Gleason score of 6 (3 + 3) were prospectively enrolled in the study and underwent multiparametric MRI and transrectal ultrasound-guided prostate systematic biopsy.

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Background: To present our experiences in initial clinical evaluation of a novel mechatronic system for in-bore guidance of needles to the prostate for MRI-guided prostate interventions in 10 patients. We report accuracy of this device in the context of focal laser ablation therapy for localized prostate cancer.

Methods: An MRI-compatible needle guidance device was developed for transperineal prostate interventions.

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Purpose: To identify the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) domains that radical prostatectomy (RP) impacts most negatively and to define the recovery of these domains over 30 months of observation.

Patients And Methods: A total of 1,200 RP patients completed the Patient-Oriented Prostate Utility Scale-Psychometric (PORPUS-P; range 0-100, higher is better), a prostate cancer-specific HRQoL measure, prior to RP and at 0-3 (T1), 3-9 (T2), 9-18 (T3) and 18-30 (T4) months post-RP. HRQoL changes were examined using paired t tests and a mixed-effect growth curve model.

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Objective: In this study, we examine the oncologic outcomes of men with low, intermediate and high preoperative risk for prostate cancer treated with radical prostatectomy prior to and during the active surveillance era.

Methods: We analyzed records from patients who underwent radical prostatectomy at our Canadian tertiary care facility from 2000 to 2012. Patients were stratified by D'Amico preoperative risk category and by year of treatment.

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We estimated the energetic cost of embryonic motility by relating the changes in embryo's motion to the changes in oxygen consumption (VO2). Measurements were conducted on chicken embryos between day 10 and 18 of incubation. Embryonic gross body movement was quantified over ten continuous 3-min periods from the pressure oscillations inside the egg, measured through an implanted catheter, and was correlated to the synchronous changes in VO2, measured by an open-flow methodology.

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