Getting hot in here! Comparison of Holmium vs. thulium laser in an anatomic hydrogel kidney model.

As laser technology has advanced, high-power lasers have become increasingly common. The Holmium: yttrium-aluminum-garnet (Ho:YAG) laser has long been accepted as the standard for laser lithotripsy. The thulium fiber laser (TFL) has recently been established as a viable option.

Cystinuria Complicated by Anuria From Bilateral Obstructing Stones Requiring Bilateral Mini Percutaneous Nephrolithotomy in a 22-Month-Old.

Pediatric nephrolithiasis is increasing in incidence and presents differently compared to adults. We report a case of nephrolithiasis in a pediatric patient, presenting with complaints of emesis, anuria, hematuria, and abdominal distension, leading to a diagnosis of bilateral obstructing cystine stones requiring bilateral percutaneous nephrolithotomy. Pediatric patients with anuria should be evaluated for bilateral nephrolithiasis as an etiology.

Changes in Billing and Reimbursement for Urology Office Visits Before and After Medicare Payment Reforms.

Introduction: The impact of Medicare reimbursement changes on urology office visit reimbursements has not been fully examined. This study aims to analyze the impact of urology office visit Medicare reimbursements from 2010 to 2021, with a focus on 2021 Medicare payment reforms.

Methods: The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Physician/Procedure Summary data from 2010-2021 were utilized to examine office visit CPT (Current Procedural Terminology) new patient visit codes 99201-99205 and established patient visit codes 99211-99215 by urologists.

Oncological and functional outcomes in patients over 70 years of age treated with robotic radical prostatectomy: a propensity-matched analysis.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to report on the safety (complications) and efficacy (oncological and functional outcomes) of robot-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP), performed at our institution, in patients aged over 70.

Patients And Methods: Review of our prospectively collected database [Cancer Information Systems (CAISIS)] identified two hundred and fifteen (215) patients, aged > 70, who underwent RARP for localized prostate cancer between July 2003 and August 2017. A propensity score-matched analysis, with multiple covariates, was performed to stratify the patients into Age ≤ 70 and Age > 70 comparison groups.

Species-based comparison of disease severity and risk factors for disseminated Candida infections in pediatric patients.

Background: Pediatric Candida infections are associated with worse clinical outcomes and increased costs. Yet, it is not definitively known if particular species are associated with more severe illness. Differential risk factor exposures among the species group may also exist.

Elevated liver function enzymes are related to the development of prediabetes and type 2 diabetes in younger adults: the Bogalusa Heart Study.

Objective: Elevations in alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and γ-glutamyl transferase (GGT), surrogate markers of liver dysfunction and nonalcoholic fatty liver, are considered as part of metabolic syndrome and related type 2 diabetes. However, information is limited regarding the long-term predictability of ALT and GGT in the development of prediabetes and type 2 diabetes.

Research Design And Methods: In this retrospective cohort study, normoglycemic (n = 874), prediabetic (n = 101), and diabetic (n = 80) adults aged 26-50 years (average age 41.

The association of birth weight with arterial stiffness at mid-adulthood: the Bogalusa Heart Study.

Background: Birth weight has been found to predict cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Pulse wave velocity (PWV), a marker of arterial stiffness, has been associated with cardiovascular risk factors. An association between birth weight and blood pressure (BP) has previously been reported.

The association of birth weight with developmental trends in blood pressure from childhood through mid-adulthood: the Bogalusa Heart study.

Low birth weight has been found to be associated with cardiovascular mortality and morbidity and with an adverse profile of several cardiovascular risk factors. The inverse association between birth weight and blood pressure was consistently reported from many populations. Using longitudinal data from the Bogalusa Heart Study (Louisiana), the authors investigated the association between birth weight and progression of blood pressure through early adulthood, comparing that relation between African Americans and Whites.

Evaluation of a hepatitis A immunization program.

Background: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a hepatitis A vaccine requirement targeted at child-care center attendees 2-5 years of age in Maricopa County, AZ. A case-control study conducted before implementation in 1997 found that individuals with hepatitis A were 6 times more likely to have worked in or attended a child-care center than were matched controls, and 40% of hepatitis A cases were attributable to attending or working in a child-care center.

Methods: A case-control study was conducted postimplementation in 1999.

Assessment of sexually transmitted diseases as risk factors for HIV seroconversion in a New Orleans sexually transmitted disease clinic, 1990-1998.

Purpose: This investigation examined the role of ulcerative and non-ulcerative sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) in increasing susceptibility to HIV seroconversion in a large population of uninfected and predominantly heterosexual persons attending a New Orleans STD clinic.

Methods: A retrospective cohort of clients with repeat HIV tests between January 1990 and April 1998 was constructed using three independent sources of information. Multivariate Cox regression was used to identify risk factors for HIV seroconversion while controlling for the effects of behavioral risk factors.

Estimating HIV incidence and detection rates from surveillance data.

Background: Markov models that incorporate HIV test information can increase precision in estimates of new infections and permit the estimation of detection rates. The purpose of this study was to assess the functioning of a Markov model for estimating new HIV infections and HIV detection rates in Louisiana using surveillance data.

Methods: We expanded a discrete-time Markov model by accounting for the change in AIDS case definition made by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 1993.

HIV/AIDS prevention programs: methodologies and insights from the dynamic modeling literature.

Given the quickly changing landscapes of both global HIV infection and the HIV prevention literature, it has become increasingly difficult to identify or design an effective HIV prevention program. The authors discuss methods of selecting an appropriate program so that readers can critically evaluate the literature and create a suitable program for their unique setting. The intent of this article is to provide the reader with analytic modeling tools and methodology to search effectively the literature so that an appropriate and successful HIV prevention program can by selected by an organization or project team.

A new tool for malaria prevention?: Results of a trial of permethrin-impregnated bedsheets (shukas) in an area of unstable transmission.

Background: Despite gains in malaria control through impregnated treated nets (ITN), malaria remains a major concern. Netting is expensive and impractical for many communities. Here we present the findings of a community-based trial of impregnated bedsheets (shukas) in Kenya.

Patterns of partnership and condom use in two communities of female sex workers in Tanzania.

Two rapid ethnographic studies have found that commercial sex workers (CSWs) and other high-risk women in Tanzania have different categories of partners, ranging from single-time contacts to long and enduring relationships. Since the advent of HIV/AIDS prevention programs in Tanzania in the late 1980s, CSWs and their clients have been aware of the multiple benefits of condom use for the prevention of pregnancy and STDs including HIV. These women often use condoms for the single-time contact.

AVERT: a user-friendly model to estimate the impact of HIV/sexually transmitted disease prevention interventions on HIV transmission.

Objective: To introduce the newly developed AVERT model by describing the purpose, logic, advantages and limitations of the model, to validate the model's estimates against seroconversion data from a large randomized controlled trial, and to provide practical examples of its applications.

Design: Static, deterministic spreadsheet-type model based on per sex act HIV-1 transmission probabilities.

Methods: Data from a recently completed trial carried out in Cameroon were used to validate the estimated number of new HIV infections generated by the AVERT model.

Measuring condom use among sex workers in the Dominican Republic.

The purpose of this paper is to assess the internal consistency of self-reported condom use among sex workers in Puerto Plata and Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. We examined the responses to questions about condom use among 4 cross-sectional samples of sex workers. We compared measures based on: (1) questions using always-to-never scales; (2) questions about use with the past 5 clients; and (3) questions about use in the past week obtained from a retrospective coital log.

Validation of a method to estimate age-specific human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) incidence rates in developing countries using population-based seroprevalence data.

The authors have conducted an analysis to validate a computer model that uses age-specific human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) prevalence data to estimate age-specific HIV incidence rates. Data for the analysis are from a cohort study of volunteer male workers in Bujumbura, the capital city of Burundi. Testing for HIV prevalence was conducted at baseline, and HIV-negative subjects were retested annually from 1990 to 1993 to determine rates of seroconversion.

Effects of PEG-electrolyte (Colyte) lavage on serum acetaminophen concentrations. A model for treatment of acetaminophen overdose.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate whole gut lavage with polyethylene glycol electrolyte solution (Colyte), as a potentially adjunctive measure in lowering serum acetaminophen levels. The effect of bowel lavage was evaluated on serial serum acetaminophen concentrations after 2-g and 4-g doses in 7 and 12 male patients, respectively. Mean peak level of serum acetaminophen after 2 g (60 min after intake) was not significantly lowered by bowel lavage.

Safety and immunogenicity of bacille Calmette-Guérin, diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis, and oral polio vaccines in newborn children in Zaire infected with human immunodeficiency virus type 1.

Objective: To determine the safety and immunogenicity of childhood vaccines in children with perinatally acquired human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) infection.

Design: Nonrandomized, prospective cohort study; 12-month follow-up period.

Setting: Obstetric wards and outpatient pediatric clinics at two large hospitals in Kinshasa, Zaire.

Creatine kinase isoenzymes in the diagnosis of intestinal infarction.

Total creatine kinase and its isoenzymes CK-MB and CK-BB were measured in the serum of patients admitted with acute abdominal pain or signs suggestive of an intraabdominal catastrophe. Total creatine kinase was measured by automated spectrophotometry, CK-MB by chemiluminescent assay, and CK-BB by radioimmunoassay. Patients were grouped according to their final diagnosis: intestinal infarction (N = 8); all other diagnoses (N = 22); controls (N = 20).

Plasmodium Falciparum malaria and perinatally acquired human immunodeficiency virus type 1 infection in Kinshasa, Zaire. A prospective, longitudinal cohort study of 587 children.

Background: It is uncertain whether Plasmodium falciparum malaria is more frequent or more severe in children with perinatally acquired human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) infection and whether P. falciparum infection accelerates the progression of HIV-related disease.

Methods: We conducted a prospective, longitudinal cohort study in Kinshasa, Zaire.

HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases among female prostitutes in Kinshasa.

In 1988, 1233 prostitutes from different geographic areas of Kinshasa participated in a cross-sectional survey on HIV infection and other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). Despite relatively good knowledge about AIDS and STDs, the reported preventive behaviour was poor. Only 12% of the women reported regular use of condoms, while greater than 50% of the women reported regular use of antibiotics and 38% reported doing nothing specific to prevent STDs.