Publications by authors named "Minervini A"

Purpose: Intravesical (i) immunotherapy with Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) is the recommended treatment for patients with intermediate- and high-risk non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) after complete tumor resection. Discontinuation or suspension of this therapy is often due to local side effects. Aim of the study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of sequential intravesical instillations of combined hyaluronic acid (HA) and chondroitin sulfate (CS) in reducing local BCG toxicity and urinary symptoms.

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Background And Objective: Management of a long proximal ureteral stricture is challenging. Buccal mucosal graft (BMG) ureteroplasty is a reliable technique for ureteral reconstruction that avoids the morbidity of bowel interposition or autotransplantation. We compared open and robotic BMG ureteroplasty in a two-center study.

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Objectives: This study aimed to explore the perceptions of donation coordinators in Canada and understand how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted their work activities.

Design: A sequential mixed-method design incorporating a cross-sectional survey investigating demographic data, substance use and abuse and perceived stress related to the pandemic and semistructured qualitative interviews to further investigate those.

Setting: Organ donation organisations across Canada.

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Background And Objectives: Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) guidelines for Radical Cystectomy (RC) were published over ten years ago. Aim of this systematic review is to update ERAS recommendations for patients undergoing RC and to give an expert opinion on the relevance of each single ERAS item.

Methods: A systematic review was performed to identify the impact of each single ERAS item on RC outcomes.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study examines the impact of smoking on the outcomes of nonmuscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) treated with BCG instillations, indicating that smokers may have poorer results.
  • Approximately 1,313 patients were analyzed using a statistical model to correlate smoking history with disease progression, revealing that heavy smokers have over double the risk of disease progression compared to nonsmokers.
  • The results highlight the importance of considering a patient's smoking history in NMIBC management and the necessity for tailored smoking cessation strategies in treatment plans.
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  • About 70% of bladder cancer cases are non-muscle invasive (NMIBC) and inflammation, influenced by factors like smoking, affects treatment outcomes with BCG therapy.
  • A study analyzed data from 1,313 NMIBC patients to examine how smoking and systemic inflammation impact the effectiveness of BCG using a machine-learning algorithm.
  • The results indicated that both smoking status and specific inflammatory markers can significantly predict the risk of disease progression, highlighting the need for tailored treatment strategies and further research to confirm the findings.
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  • * A total of 89 patients were analyzed, with significant improvements in urinary symptoms and quality of life observed post-surgery, as shown by decreases in International Prostate Symptoms Score (IPSS) and post-voiding residual volume.
  • * Only 4.5% of patients experienced urinary incontinence after the procedure, and all regained continence within 3 months, indicating that SP-RASP is a safe and effective option for this condition.
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To develop and validate a novel Comorbidity score for Robotic Surgery (CRS) in predicting severe complications after robot-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP). Furthermore, we investigated the impact of the surgical platform (Multi-Port - MP vs Single-Port - SP) according to this score. We included 2085 ("development cohort") and 595 ("validation cohort") patients undergoing RARP at two tertiary referral centers between 2014 and March 2024 in a retrospective study.

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Purpose: The rise of frail patients in the worldwide population poses a challenge in the prostate cancer surgical care. In this light, we aimed to compare perioperative and early surgical outcomes of Extraperitoneal Single Port (SP)- vs Transperitoneal Multiport (MP) - Robot Assisted Radical Prostatectomy (RALP) in different frailty settings.

Materials And Methods: Clinical and surgical data of all consecutive patients treated with RALP between March 2014 and October 2023 were gathered.

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Background: Over the past decade, the range of surgical options to benign prostatic obstruction (BPO) has expanded significantly with the advent of minimally invasive surgical therapies (MISTs). Nevertheless, the available evidence in the field is heterogeneous. Efficacy and safety thresholds are yet to be determined.

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  • In a study of 4011 patients who had unilateral cT1a-b renal mass treated with partial nephrectomy, researchers aimed to explore how a surgeon's experience affects surgical outcomes, specifically acute kidney injury (AKI) and kidney function a year post-surgery.
  • Previously, it was known that complications and ischemia times improved with surgeon experience, but there was limited data on long-term kidney function.
  • The findings revealed no significant association between surgical experience and AKI or recovery of kidney function in either laparoscopic or robot-assisted techniques, suggesting other factors may play a more crucial role in these outcomes.
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  • The European Association of Urology (EAU) developed guidelines during the COVID-19 pandemic to prioritize surgeries for patients with urological malignancies, focusing on "high-risk" cases.
  • A study compared tumor characteristics of patients treated during the pandemic (2020-2021) with those treated post-pandemic (2022-2023), finding that while surgical procedures were similar, certain surgeries like radical prostatectomies and partial nephrectomies were significantly lower during the pandemic.
  • Despite the differences in surgery rates, the study found no significant changes in tumor pathological features, indicating that effective prioritization and centralization of care can help maintain the quality of oncological treatment during health crises.
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Background: Voluntary PCa screening frequently results in excessive use of unnecessary diagnostic tests and an increasing risk of detection of indolent PCa and unaffordable costs for the various national health systems. In this scenario, the Italian Society of Urology (Società Italiana di Urologia, SIU) proposes an organized flow chart guiding physicians to improve early diagnosis of significant PCa avoiding unnecessary diagnostic tests and prostate biopsy.

Methods: According to available evidence and international guidelines [i.

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To contrast opportunistic PCa screening, the European Union Council suggested extending screening programs to PCa by recommending the implementation of a stepwise approach in the EU Countries to evaluate the feasibility and effectiveness of an organized program based on PSA testing in combination with additional MRI as a follow-up test. The objective of this expert-based document is to propose an organized PCa screening program according to the EU Council recommendations. The Italian Society of Urology (SIU) developed a team of experts with the aim to report 1) the most recent epidemiologic data about incidence, prevalence, and mortality of PCa; 2) the most important risk factors to identify categories of men with an increased risk to eventually develop the disease; 3) the most relevant studies presenting data on population-based screening; and 4) the current recommendations of the leading International Guidelines.

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Previous studies have demonstrated that brain stimulation can alter an individual's physical appearance via dysregulation of the medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC). In this study, we attempted to determine if individuals who receive repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) delivered to the MPFC were rated as more attractive by others. It has been previously reported that 1 hertz (Hz) (inhibitory) TMS can alter one's facial expressions such that frontal cortex inhibition can increase expressiveness.

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Background: Biparametric MRI (bpMRI) has an important role in the diagnosis of prostate cancer (PCa), by reducing the cost and duration of the procedure and adverse reactions. We assess the additional benefit of the ADC map in detecting prostate cancer (PCa). Additionally, we examine whether the ADC value correlates with the presence of clinically significant tumors (csPCa).

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Current guidelines recommend radical nephroureterectomy with bladder cuff excision as the standard surgical treatment for high-risk upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC). While large evidence is available regarding open and laparoscopic nephroureterectomy, data focusing on robotic nephroureterectomy (RNU) in UTUC are mostly limited with mixed results, especially in locally advanced disease. In light of the recent introduction of new robotic platforms, it is of utmost importance to further investigate oncologic outcomes associated with RNU.

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Despite the approval of new drugs, the inclusion of -omics-derived data and the integration of machine learning in both the diagnostic and therapeutic process, the prognosis of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) remains dismal. The curative path is still aimed at achieving a successful allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) in most patients. Nevertheless, access to this procedure is limited to eligible patients.

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While allograft rejection (AR) continues to threaten the success of cardiothoracic transplantation, lack of accurate and repeatable surveillance tools to diagnose AR is a major unmet need in the clinical management of cardiothoracic transplant recipients. Endomyocardial biopsy (EMB) and transbronchial biopsy (TBBx) have been the cornerstone of rejection monitoring since the field's incipience, but both suffer from significant limitations, including poor concordance of biopsy interpretation among pathologists. In recent years, novel molecular tools for AR monitoring have emerged and their performance characteristics have been evaluated in multiple studies.

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Objective: The management of chronic prostatitis/ chronic pelvic pain syndrome type III (CP/CPPS) has been always considered complex due to several biopsychological factors underlying the disease. In this clinical study, we aimed to evaluate the efficacy of the treatment with Palmitoylethanolamide, Epilobium and Calendula extract in patients with CP/CPPS III.

Materials And Methods: From June 2023 to July 2023, we enrolled 45 consecutive patients affected by CP/CPPS type III in three different institution.

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Introduction: Consensus for Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) in pediatrics has been achieved in neonatal intestinal surgery, yet it is not widely utilized in pediatric urology. We investigated the application of ERAS guidelines in pediatric urology, and determined its effects given the available level of evidence supporting the ERAS protocol in children.

Evidence Acquisition: A systematic literature review including series providing adoption of fast-track recovery protocols for pediatric urology procedures was carried out.

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