Management strategies and oncological follow-up of a bicentric French cohort of biopsied renal oncocytomas.

Objective: Renal oncocytoma is a benign renal tumour whose management remains heterogeneous and poorly codified. The aim of this study was to describe the management strategies and evolution of a cohort of biopsied renal oncocytomas.

Materials And Methods: We retrospectively reviewed renal oncocytomas biopsied in 2 French academic centres between 2009 and 2016.

Local recurrences for mixed germ cell tumors without scrotal violation, is metastatic disease around the corner? A case report.

We hereby report the case of a 40-year-old male, who initially underwent a left inguinal orchiectomy for a stage Is mixed germ cell tumor achieving an R0 status. His follow-up is mainly noticeable for many recurrences affecting exclusively the inguinal and suprapubic soft tissues. The recurrences occurred early, and almost always contained immature tissue upon pathologic reading, which has never been described in the medical literature before.

Utilizing machine learning to classify persistent organic pollutants in the serum of pregnant women: a predictive modeling approach.

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs), and per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are persistent organic pollutants (POPs) that remain detrimental to critical subpopulations, namely pregnant women. Required tests for biomonitoring are quite expensive. Moreover, statistical models aiming to discover the relationships between pollutants levels and human characteristics have their limitations.

Surgical metastasectomy for metastatic renal cell carcinoma in the era of targeted and immune therapy: a narrative review.

Purpose: Metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC) still harbours a big propensity for future metastasis. Combinations of immune and targeted therapies are currently the cornerstone of management with a less clear role for surgical metastasectomy (SM).

Methods: We performed a narrative review of literature searching for the available evidence on the yield of surgical metastasectomy in the era of targeted and immune therapies.

Dioxins and furans maternal transfer: A study of breast milk and cord serum levels among Lebanese mothers and associations with newborn anthropometric measurements.

Dioxins and furans (PCDD/Fs) are anthropogenic pollutants that persist in the environment for long years, bioaccumulating in food & contaminating humans. In pregnancy, they can transfer through the placenta and reach the fetus, which negatively affects fetal growth. They can also reach newborns through breastfeeding.

The Environmental Exposures in Lebanese Infants (EELI) birth cohort: an investigation into the Developmental Origins of Health and Diseases (DOHaD).

The EELI Study is a longitudinal birth cohort launched in 2021 in Lebanon to examine the long-term impact of environmental exposures on the health of prospective Lebanese mothers and infants and disease outcomes. This article delineates the adopted study design and protocols, current progress, and contextual considerations for the planning and launching of a birth cohort in a resource-limited setting. A sample of  = 135 pregnant women expecting to give birth at the Hôtel-Dieu de France University Hospital has been recruited since the study launch.

Maternal Serum, Cord and Human Milk Levels of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS), Association with Predictors and Effect on Newborn Anthropometry.

Background: The understanding of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) health effects is rapidly advancing among critical populations. Therefore, the objective of this study was to assess PFAS serum levels among Lebanese pregnant women, cord serum and human milk levels, their determinants, and effects on newborn anthropometry.

Methods: We measured concentrations of six PFAS (PFHpA, PFOA, PFHxS, PFOS, PFNA and PFDA) using liquid chromatography MS/MS for 419 participants, of which 269 had sociodemographic, anthropometric, environmental and dietary information.

The rate of cesarean delivery changes after internal audit based on the Robson Ten Group Classification System in Lebanon.

Objective: To evaluate the efficiency of the Robson classification as an internal clinical audit and feedback of the high rate of cesarean delivery at Hotel Dieu de France, a tertiary referral hospital.

Methods: A pre-post study was conducted, with a retrospective approach in 2018 and 2019, identified as the pre-period (before the implementation of the Robson classification), and with a prospective approach in 2020 and 2021, labeled the post-period.

Results: The total number of deliveries during the study period was 2560; 1305 patients were included in the pre-period and 1255 patients delivered in the post-period.

Dietary patterns and birth outcomes of healthy Lebanese pregnant women.

Background: The aim of this study was to define the dietary patterns (DPs) of a sample of Lebanese pregnant women and to establish their correlation with maternal and neonatal outcomes.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 358 Lebanese pregnant women. Maternal socio-demographic variables, anthropometric measurements, gestational weight gain and neonatal outcomes such as weight, length, head circumference and Apgar score were collected by qualified dietitians.

Pure Laparoscopic Donor Nephrectomy: A Single Institution Experience From a Middle Eastern Country.

Background: Laparoscopic live donor nephrectomy (LLDN) is the most adopted technique for kidney transplantation. Several obstacles preclude brain-dead organ transplantation in the Middle East, going from social and cultural barriers to economical and structural difficulties. To our knowledge, this is the first study to report Lebanese experience with pure LLDN, and kidney transplantation.

Contraception knowledge and practices among students in Lebanese universities.

This study aimed to evaluate the proportion of contraception users among Lebanese youth, and the extent of knowledge and perception on birth control; and to raise awareness and sensitise young adults to sexual health, which remains taboo in Lebanon. The 30-item questionnaire was broadcasted to students in private and public universities in Lebanon, through social media and it collected information on contraception use and student knowledge. Over 30% of responders were medical students, and 41% have ever used contraceptives (mostly women); among which, 52.

Air Pollution and Perinatal Health in the Eastern Mediterranean Region: Challenges, Limitations, and the Potential of Epigenetics.

Purpose Of Review: Even though the burden of disease attributable to air pollution is high in the Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR), the number of studies linking environmental exposures to negative health outcomes remains scarce and limited in scope. This review aims to assess the literature on exposure to air pollutants and perinatal health in the EMR and to explain the potential of epigenetics in exploring the processes behind adverse birth outcomes.

Recent Findings: In the last three decades, hundreds of studies and publications tackled the health effects of air pollution on birth outcomes and early life development, but only a small number of these studies was conducted in the EMR.

Urothelial carcinoma in COVID-19: lessons from a pandemic and their impact on clinical practice.

The COVID-19 pandemic has modified the management of urothelial carcinoma (UC). Eighteen months after the onset of the pandemic, a scoping narrative review was able to state that radical cystectomy for UC should not be delayed beyond 10 weeks when neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) was administered and 12 weeks when it was not. NAC should be considered when imminent chemotherapy cannot be performed.

Determinants of pyelonephritis onset in patients with obstructive urolithiasis.

Background: Acute obstructive pyelonephritis due to urolithiasis represents a medico-surgical emergency that can lead to life-threatening complications. There are still no established factors that reliably predict progression toward acute pyelonephritis in patients presenting with a simple renal colic.

Objective: To investigate clinical and paraclinical factors that are associated with the onset of acute obstructive pyelonephritis.

Sexual dysfunction due to pudendal neuralgia: a systematic review.

Background: The pudendal nerve is considered as the main nerve of sexuality. Pudendal neuralgia is an underdiagnosed disease in clinical practice. The aim of this systematic review is to highlight the role of pudendal neuralgia on sexual dysfunction in both sexes.

Minimally invasive simple prostatectomy in the era of laser enucleation for high-volume prostates: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Objective: To perform a systematic review and meta-analysis of available prospective and retrospective studies comparing the minimally invasive (laparoscopic or robot-assisted) simple prostatectomy (MISP) and laser enucleation of the prostate for treating male lower urinary tract symptoms in high-volume prostates, as laser enucleation of the prostate is the new trend for treating high-volume prostates (>80 mL) but many urologists now prefer MISP.

Methods: A systematic search was done using the Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System Online (MEDLINE) and Cochrane databases in June 2019, with research terms including: 'laser', 'laparoscopy', 'enucleation', 'BPH', 'simple prostatectomy', 'Millins', and 'adenomectomy'. The meta-analysis was conducted according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines.

Is pudendal nerve entrapment a potential cause for weak ejaculation?

Ejaculatory dysfunction is one of the most common complaints of patients with sexual disorders. While it encompasses several ejaculatory disorders, weak ejaculation is seldom described in the literature. Since the pudendal nerve is the main nerve of ejaculation, we aim to hypothesize that pudendal nerve entrapment could be a cause of weak ejaculation, and that pudendal nerve release could contribute to the improvement of the ejaculatory stream.

Cesarean section rates in a tertiary referral hospital in Beirut from 2018 to 2020: Our experience using the Robson Classification.

Objective: To evaluate the cesarean section rate using the Robson Classification for the first time in Lebanon, at Hôtel-Dieu de France University Hospital, a tertiary referral center in Beirut.

Methods: Routine medical record data that included all live births from January 1, 2018 to September 30, 2020 was investigated. The overall cesarean section rate was recorded, and the size, cesarean section rate, and absolute and relative contributions were calculated within each group.

Prognostic role of neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) in urological tumors: an umbrella review of evidence from systematic reviews and meta-analyses.

Background: Neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) has been studied as a biomarker for cancer prognosis, predicting survival in many tumors. The aim of this umbrella review was to combine the results from all systematic reviews and meta-analyses related to the prognostic role of the NLR in patients with urological tumors.

Methods: A PubMed, Scopus, Embase and Cochrane search was undergone from inception through September 2020 for systematic reviews and meta-analyses investigating the prognostic value of NLR in urological tumors, subdivided into prostate cancer, renal cell carcinoma, urothelial bladder and upper tract carcinomas PROSPERO (CRD42020216310).