Enabling national improvement in quality of care for renal colic.

Objectives: To report the results of a clinical audit conducted by the British Association of Urological Surgeons (BAUS) of ureteric stone care pathways, with results reported with reference to national quality standards.

Patients And Methods: The BAUS conducted a clinical audit of all patients presenting as an emergency to 107 hospitals in England during November 2020 with ureteric stones. All patients were followed up until 31 March 2021 and the inpatient and outpatient management received was recorded.

UK national bladder outlet obstruction surgery snapshot audit.

Objectives: To determine the preoperative assessment and perioperative outcomes of men undergoing bladder outlet obstruction (BOO) surgery in the UK.

Patients And Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted of all men undergoing BOO surgery in 105 UK hospitals over a 1-month period. The study included 1456 men, of whom 42% were catheter dependent prior to undergoing surgery.

Cost analysis of ureteroscopy (URS) vs extracorporeal shockwave lithotripsy (ESWL) in the management of ureteric stones <10 mm in adults: a UK perspective.

Objectives: To compare the total cost of a treatment strategy starting with ureteroscopy (URS) vs a strategy starting with extracorporeal shockwave lithotripsy (ESWL).

Methods: For ureteric stones of <10 mm, URS or ESWL are the main treatment options that are considered. Although the interventions differ, the goal of the interventions is to achieve a stone-free status.

Multi-length or 24 cm ureteric stent? A multicentre randomised comparison of stent-related symptoms using a validated questionnaire.

Unlabelled: WHAT'S KNOWN ON THE SUBJECT? AND WHAT DOES THE STUDY ADD?: One of the suggested factors for stent-related symptoms is that excess distal intravesical stent mass may cause bladder irritation. There is a lack of studies investigating this in a randomised controlled fashion using a validated questionnaire. This study compared two of the most commonly used length of stents (a 30 cm multi-length vs a 24 cm long stent) and showed no significance difference in stent-related symptoms in patients with either of these stents.

Changing P2X receptor localization on maturing sperm in the epididymides of mice, hamsters, rats, and humans: a preliminary study.

Objective: To study using immunohistochemistry the localization of P2X receptor subtypes on the head of immature sperm in the human, mouse, hamster, and rat caput epididymidis.

Design: Basic research.

Setting: University-based hospital.

A functional study of purinergic signalling in the normal and pathological rabbit corpus cavernosum.

Objective: To examine rabbit cavernosal smooth muscle (CSM) relaxation to ATP, ADP and UTP in normal rabbits and in models of conditions that predispose to erectile dysfunction (ED), diabetes mellitus (DM; induced for 6 months) and bladder outlet obstruction (BOO, 6 weeks after surgery).

Materials And Methods: Concentration-response curves (CRCs) were constructed to ATP, ADP and UTP on CSM from control rabbits in the absence and presence of antagonists. In addition, CRCs were constructed to ATP in CSM from rabbits with DM and BOO.

Randomized trial of laparoscopic v open nephrectomy.

Background And Purpose: Clayman and associates first described laparoscopic nephrectomy in 1990. This paper describes the first randomized controlled trial to compare laparoscopic with open surgery for simple and radical nephrectomy.

Patients And Methods: Between 2001 and 2004, 45 patients requiring simple or radical nephrectomy (tumors as large as 8 cm) were randomized to either open surgery through a loin incision or laparoscopic nephrectomy (transperitoneal).

The purinergic component of human vas deferens contraction.

Objective: To examine purinergic signaling in human vas deferens.

Design: To study contractile responses of the scrotal vas deferens.

Setting: Research department of a university teaching hospital.

Alterations in purinergic and cholinergic components of contractile responses of isolated detrusor contraction in a rat model of partial bladder outlet obstruction.

Objective: To study the effect of 3 weeks of partial bladder outlet obstruction (BOO), compared to a sham operation, on the cholinergic and purinergic components of detrusor contractile responses to agonists and to electrical field stimulation (EFS); the expression of P2X receptor subtypes was also examined.

Materials And Methods: Partial BOO was induced in female Sprague-Dawley rats by surgically applying a jeweller's silver 'jump' ring around the urethra, such that the urethra was constricted but not closed. Sham-operated female rats underwent an identical procedure without placement of a ring.

Smooth muscle and purinergic contraction of the human, rabbit, rat, and mouse testicular capsule.

The smooth-muscle cells of the testicular capsule (tunica albuginea) of man, rat, and mouse were examined by electron microscopy. They were characteristically flattened, elongated, branching cells and diffusely incorporated into the collagenous matrix and did not form a compact muscle layer. Contractile and synthetic smooth-muscle cell phenotypes were identified.

Urolithiasis and obesity: metabolic and technical considerations.

Purpose Of Review: The increasing prevalence of obesity poses a challenge to urologists in the diagnosis and treatment of urolithiasis. This review summarizes the new evidence linking obesity and urolithiasis, and the technical considerations and modifications necessary in the diagnosis and treatment of stone disease in obese patients.

Recent Findings: Recent studies have confirmed the epidemiological link between obesity and urolithiasis, and have provided some possible explanations for its underlying cause.

Immunocytochemical and pharmacological characterisation of P2-purinoceptor-mediated cell growth and death in PC-3 hormone refractory prostate cancer cells.

Background: Extracellular nucleotides (e.g adenosine 5'-triphosphate, ATP) influence biological processes via purinergic receptors. We characterised the P2-purinoreceptors in human hormone refractory prostate cancer (HRPC) cells (PC-3 cells).

Reduction of endothelin-1 binding and inhibition of endothelin-1-mediated detrusor contraction by naftidrofuryl.

Endothelin-1 (ET-1) causes urinary bladder smooth muscle contraction and the endothelin receptors A and B (ET(A) and ET(B)) are both known to be present in the rabbit urinary bladder. Alterations in ET-1 signalling have been implicated in the pathophysiology of urinary tract disorders secondary to bladder outlet obstruction and also in diabetic cystopathy. Naftidrofuryl (Naf) (marketed under the trade name Praxilene) improves walking distance in patients with peripheral vascular disease, an effect which may be partially attributed to ET-1 antagonism.

Decreased urinary bladder apoptosis in a rabbit model of diabetes mellitus.

Urinary bladder dysfunction is a recognised complication of diabetes mellitus (DM). This is thought to be partly related to altered bladder morphology as DM is associated with increased bladder weight. In DM, increased cellular proliferation is well established.