Laparoscopic appendectomy is safer than open appendectomy in an elderly population.

Background And Objectives: This study describes perioperative patient safety outcomes comparing laparoscopic appendectomy with open appendectomy in the elderly population (defined as age≥65 years) during the diffusion of laparoscopic appendectomy into widespread clinical practice.

Methods: We performed a cross-sectional analysis of patients undergoing open or laparoscopic appendectomy in the US Nationwide Inpatient Sample, a 20% sample of inpatient discharges from 1056 hospitals, from 1998 to 2009, and used weighted sampling to estimate national trends. Multivariate logistic regression modeling was used to examine the association of laparoscopy with perioperative outcomes.

Evidence-based treatment of jellyfish stings in North America and Hawaii.

We performed a systematic review of the evidence supporting various treatments for envenomation by jellyfish (cnidarian) and related organisms in North America and Hawaii. Our review produced 19 pertinent primary articles. Current research demonstrates variable response to treatment, often with conflicting results according to species studied, which contributes to considerable confusion about what treatment is warranted and efficacious.

Inpatient safety trends in laparoscopic and open nephrectomy for renal tumours.

Unlabelled: Study Type--Cohort study Level of Evidence 2b. What's known on the subject? and What does the study add? Laparoscopic radical nephrectomy for renal cancer provides equivalent long-term cancer control with shorter hospital stays, less postoperative pain, and faster resumption of normal activities, but it has diffused slowly into clinical practice, perhaps as a result of perceptions about safety. Patient safety outcomes for laparoscopic and open radical nephrectomy using validated measures remain incompletely characterized.

Prostate size is not associated with recovery of sexual function after minimally invasive radical prostatectomy.

Objectives: To investigate the association of prostate weight with recovery of sexual function after minimally invasive radical prostatectomy.

Methods: Between April 2001 and September 2007, two surgeons performed 856 consecutive laparoscopic radical prostatectomies for clinically localized prostate cancer. Patients were stratified into three groups by prostate weight: <35 g, 35-70 g, and >70 g.

Is a return to baseline sexual function possible? An analysis of sexual function outcomes following laparoscopic radical prostatectomy.

Objectives: Outcome measures following radical prostatectomy are not standardized. Though excellent potency rates are widely reported, few studies address a return to baseline function. We analyze validated sexual health-related quality-of-life outcomes by a strict definition, a return to baseline function, and compare them to less stringent, yet more frequently referenced, categorical definitions of potency.

Comparison of validated instruments measuring sexual function in men.

Objectives: There is no universally accepted instrument to measure sexual function (SF) in men. We compare validated SF measures in a single cohort.

Methods: We compare the Sexual Health Inventory for Men (SHIM), Expanded Prostate Cancer Index Composite SF domain (EPIC-SF), and a reconstructed University of California Los Angeles Prostate Cancer Index SF domain (PCI-SF) in 856 men scheduled for radical prostatectomy.

The impact of prostate size on perioperative outcomes in a large laparoscopic radical prostatectomy series.

Purpose: To clarify the effects of pathologic prostate specimen weight on perioperative outcomes in laparoscopic radical prostatectomy (LRP), a subject that has recently been analyzed in numerous smaller series.

Patients And Methods: Data from our Institution Review Board-approved database was queried with attention to operative, perioperative, and pathologic outcomes. For analysis, LRP patients were divided into three groups by pathologic specimen weight: <35 g, 35 to 70 g, and >70 g, and outcomes assessed.

The impact of prostate size on urinary quality of life indexes following laparoscopic radical prostatectomy.

Purpose: We assessed the effects of prostate size on long-term health related quality of life and functional outcomes after laparoscopic radical prostatectomy.

Materials And Methods: A total of 729 consecutive patients who underwent laparoscopic radical prostatectomy for localized prostate cancer were stratified by pathological prostate gland weight, including group 1--less than 35 gm, group 2--35 to 70 gm and group 3--greater than 70 gm. Urinary health related quality of life was assessed preoperatively and at regular intervals following laparoscopic radical prostatectomy using the validated Expanded Prostate Cancer Index Composite questionnaire.

Association of surgeon subjective characterization of nerve sparing quality with potency following laparoscopic radical prostatectomy.

Purpose: We assessed whether a surgeon self-graded assessment of neurovascular bundle preservation quality predicted potency following laparoscopic radical prostatectomy.

Materials And Methods: From April 2001 to January 2007 a total of 767 laparoscopic radical prostatectomies were performed by 2 surgeons who graded left and right neurovascular bundle sparing qualities on a scale of 0 to 5. The total number of nerves spared was also recorded.