Publications by authors named "Mark Alshak"

Extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (SWL) can be used in conjunction with endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) for the treatment of large (≥5 mm) or impacted pancreatolithiasis. We report our experience demonstrating the safety and effectiveness of urologist-directed SWL for pancreatolithiasis. We performed a retrospective review of all patients undergoing SWL for pancreatolithiasis at our institution between 2016 and 2020.

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No study has yet assessed the risk of developing erectile dysfunction (ED) after a diagnosis of long COVID, defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as the persistence or presence of new symptoms at least 4 weeks after initial SARS-CoV-2 infection, when compared to those diagnosed with acute COVID or cases in which more severe treatment is required. To assess these risks, we queried the TriNetX COVID-19 Research Network from December 1st 2020 through June 2023. Men aged ≥ 18 diagnosed with long COVID were compared to those diagnosed with acute COVID and analyses were performed to compare men who were/were not hospitalized within 1 month of acute COVID diagnosis and men who did/did not need vasopressors.

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Objective: To determine whether prostate biopsy type affects spacer placement quality using a large sample of patients treated in the ambulatory setting.

Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted on patients diagnosed with prostate cancer who underwent hydrogel spacer placement before primary radiation treatment between 2018 and 2023 after transperineal (TP) or transrectal (TR) prostate biopsy. Study outcomes were Spacer Quality Score (SQS) (0-2, with greater values indicating better placement), Rectal Wall Infiltration (RWI) (0-3, with lower values indicating lack of RWI), and the occurrence of other hydrogel complications.

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To document the effect of the temporarily implanted nitinol device (iTind; Medi-Tate Ltd, Israel) on sexual function from a multicenter, randomized, single-blinded, sham-controlled trial. Men were randomized 2:1 between iTind and sham procedure arms. The iTind was placed for 5-7 days and an 18F Foley catheter was inserted and removed for the iTind and sham group, respectively.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study examined different management strategies for patients with acute respiratory failure (ARF) due to Covid-19, focusing on prolonged observation versus early invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV).
  • Among 632 patients analyzed, early IMV had a 24% mortality rate, while prolonged observation had a 28% mortality rate, with prolonged observation showing lower mortality at lower modified sequential organ failure assessment (mSOFA) scores.
  • The findings suggest that prolonged observation may reduce mortality in patients with lower mSOFA scores, but carries increased risks for those with higher scores compared to early IMV.
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Context: Transperineal prostate biopsy is associated with a significantly lower risk of infectious complications than the transrectal approach. In fact, the risk of infectious complications with transperineal prostate biopsy is so low that the utility of administering periprocedural antibiotics with this procedure has come under question.

Objective: To perform a systematic review and meta-analysis to assess for differences in the rates of infectious complications (septic, nonseptic, and overall) after performing transperineal prostate biopsy with and without the administration of periprocedural antibiotic prophylaxis.

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Purpose: Stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) is increasingly used for prostate cancer, but has morbidity as both the bladder and rectum are radiated during treatment. Our goal was to document and compare lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) among men who underwent SBRT with and without SpaceOAR hydrogel (Augmenix, Inc., Bedford, MA).

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Background: The long-term prevalence and risk factors for post-acute COVID-19 sequelae (PASC) are not well described and may have important implications for unvaccinated populations and policy makers.

Objective: To assess health status, persistent symptoms, and effort tolerance approximately 1 year after COVID-19 infection DESIGN: Retrospective observational cohort study using surveys and clinical data PARTICIPANTS: Survey respondents who were survivors of acute COVID-19 infection requiring Emergency Department presentation or hospitalization between March 3 and May 15, 2020.

Main Measure(s): Self-reported health status, persistent symptoms, and effort tolerance KEY RESULTS: The 530 respondents (median time between hospital presentation and survey 332 days [IQR 325-344]) had mean age 59.

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Introduction: Data extraction from electronic health record (EHR) systems occurs through manual abstraction, automated extraction, or a combination of both. While each method has its strengths and weaknesses, both are necessary for retrospective observational research as well as sudden clinical events, like the COVID-19 pandemic. Assessing the strengths, weaknesses, and potentials of these methods is important to continue to understand optimal approaches to extracting clinical data.

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Introduction: Half of men aged > 60 years will develop benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) with 40% of these men having moderate-to-severe lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS). There is limited knowledge on a head-to-head comparison of prostatic urethral lift (UroLift) and convective water vapor ablation (Rezum) for the treatment of LUTS secondary to BPH. We sought to compare randomized controlled trials with 3-year clinical outcome data.

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Background: The clinical course of COVID-19 includes multiple disease phases. Data describing post-hospital discharge outcomes may provide insight into disease course. Studies describing post-hospitalization outcomes of adults following COVID-19 infection are limited to electronic medical record review, which may underestimate the incidence of outcomes.

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As the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic hit the United States in March 2020, there was widespread disruption of clinical medical education: Hospital clerkships were suspended nationwide and students were moved out of the hospital and continued their studies remotely through virtual learning systems. Frustrated by not being able to directly care for patients, medical students across the country formed diverse volunteer initiatives to help frontline clinicians. In this article, the authors describe the essential role of medical students at Weill Cornell Medicine in quickly designing and building a large registry of COVID-19 patients who presented at 3 New York City hospitals.

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Objective: To report the results of a multicenter, randomized, controlled trial with a temporarily implanted nitinol device (iTind; Medi-Tate Ltd, Hadera, Israel) compared to sham for the treatment of lower urinary tract symptoms secondary to benign prostatic hyperplasia.

Materials And Methods: Men 50 years or older were randomized 2:1 between iTind and sham procedure arms. A self-expanding, temporary nitinol device was placed for 5-7 days and an 18F Foley catheter was inserted and removed for the iTind and sham group, respectively.

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A 52-year-old African American man with small bowel adenocarcinoma metastatic to the brain and leptomeninges was found to have an acute pulmonary embolism while hospitalized for acute lower limb weakness, bowel, and urinary incontinence. He had an elevated troponin, echocardiographic findings concerning for right heart failure, and bilateral segmental and subsegmental pulmonary artery perfusion deficits with right pulmonary artery thrombus on CT angiography. Given the laboratory and radiographic findings with normotensive blood pressure, the patient was diagnosed with a submassive pulmonary embolism.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study aimed to assess the impact of obesity, hypertension, smoking, and diabetes mellitus (DM) on recurrence risk after surgery in localized renal cell carcinoma (RCC) patients.
  • Researchers conducted a retrospective analysis of 873 patients who had partial or radical nephrectomy for RCC, identifying key prognostic factors and assessing disease recurrence over an average follow-up of 4.9 years.
  • Findings revealed that higher pathological T-stage and nuclear grade are strong indicators of recurrence, with DM specifically linked to poorer disease-free and overall survival in patients with early-stage tumors.
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Objective: To elucidate the accuracy of MRI and MRI-ultrasound fusion guided targeted biopsy (TBx) on risk stratification in men who underwent subsequent radical prostatectomy (RP).

Materials And Methods: A single-center, retrospective study was performed in men at risk for prostate cancer who (n = 140) underwent TBx and RP between November 2012 and August 2018. Comparisons were made between patients clinically staged by preoperative MRI and TBx Gleason grade group (GGG) and stage after RP.

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This data article presents the supplementary material for the review paper "Healthcare Costs of Post-Prostate Biopsy Sepsis" (Gross et al., 2019). A general overview is provided of 18 papers, including the details about year and journal of publication, country of dataset, data population characteristics, cost basis, and potential for bias evaluation.

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A mobile application (app) designed on the basis of a literature review and interviews with urologic oncologists was created to help streamline robot-assisted radical prostatectomy care and in compliance with quality indicators. Use of the app was limited to English-speaking men with iPhones; 20 of 43 men approached (47%) agreed to participate. Lack of an iPhone was the most common reason for non-enrollment (52%).

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Sepsis following transrectal prostate biopsy occurs in 2%-5% of cases and the risk is increasing. We performed a comprehensive literature search for the cost of post-prostate biopsy sepsis to define the potential cost savings of reducing infectious complications. Reporting of cost is varied and presents a challenge to interpretation.

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Objective: To determine impact of age and other prognostic factors on the survival of ovarian immature teratoma (IT) patients.

Methods: Data obtained from the SEER database between 1973 and 2012. Kaplan-Meier methods and multivariate Cox regression models were used for statistical analyses.

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