Evaluation of Magnetic Ureteric Stents: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Magnetic ureteric stents offer a novel approach for simplifying stent removal, minimizing patient discomfort, and reducing procedural burdens. This systematic review and meta-analysis synthesized evidence from 12 studies involving 1,297 patients to evaluate the efficacy and safety of magnetic stent removal compared to conventional methods. Key outcomes included reductions in procedural pain scores, shorter removal times, and high patient satisfaction.

Efficacy and Safety of Optilume Drug-Coated Balloon for Urethral Stricture Treatment: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

The Optilume drug-coated balloon (DCB) (North Plymouth, USA) is a novel treatment option for urethral stricture disease that combines mechanical dilation with localized delivery of paclitaxel, an antiproliferative drug aimed at reducing recurrence rates by inhibiting scar tissue formation. This systematic review and meta-analysis, conducted using studies published in the last 10 years up to November 2024, assessed the efficacy and safety of Optilume DCB across seven studies involving 457 patients. Key outcomes included significant reductions in symptom scores, as measured by the International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS), and improvements in urinary flow rates (QMax).

U.K. consensus statement on the use of extracorporeal photopheresis for treatment of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma and chronic graft-versus-host disease.

Extracorporeal photopheresis (ECP) has been used for over 30 years in the treatment of erythrodermic cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL) and over 20 years for chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGVHD). The lack of prospective randomized trials has led to different centres having different patient selection criteria, treatment schedules, monitoring protocols and patient assessment criteria. ECP for CTCL and cGVHD is available only at six specialized centres across the U.

Outcome of consecutive pregnancies in a patient with Bombay (Oh) blood group.

A young lady with a rare Bombay (Oh) blood group had two successive uneventful pregnancies. Her serum contained a potent high-titre anti-H and serological as well as chemiluminescence tests, suggesting that the antibody was haemolytic. Her husband was of the normal H status.

National audit of citrate toxicity in plateletpheresis donors.

Unlabelled: Citrate toxicity complicating plateletpheresis is not uncommon. However, the scale and severity of the problem have never been formally addressed. In order to answer these questions we undertook a national audit of 13 070-platelet procedures throughout 17 apheresis centres in England over a 3-month period from 1 April to 30 June 2000.