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Directory of Authors from the Journal and their last article.

Mark E JohnsonView Articles

Volume 19, Number 4Review Articles

A Head-to-Head Comparative Phase II Study of Standard Urine Culture and Sensitivity Versus DNA Next-generation Sequencing Testing for Urinary Tract Infections

Original Research

Vladimir MouravievDavid AlbalaMichael McDonaldDarian KamehMark E JohnsonTruls E Bjerklund Johansen

Many studies have discussed clinical practice guidelines for the treatment of cystitis and pyelonephritis. Treatment of uncomplicated urinary tract infections (UTIs) can be based on empiric antibiotic therapy. For complicated or recurrent UTIs, therapy can be based on laboratory-controlled culture and sensitivity (C&S) reports. The diagnosis of UTI by clinical criteria alone has an error rate of up to 33%. In addition, positive laboratory culture results do not always indicate a diagnosis of UTI. Comparison of urine in a conventional culture model versus DNA next-generation sequencing (NGS) to accurately identify and provide information on resistance factors (mobile genetic elements) is warranted. Our study was a head-to-head comparative phase II study of standard urine C&S versus DNA NGS testing for the diagnosis and treatment efficacy in patients with symptoms of acute cystitis based on short-term outcomes. [Rev Urol. 2017;19(4):213–220 doi: 10.3909/riu0780] © 2018 MedReviews®, LLC

Urinary tract infectionPyelonephritisCystitisDNA next-generation sequencing

Mark EmbertonView Articles

Volume 16, Number 3Review Articles

The Rationale for Optimal Combination Therapy With Sipuleucel-T for Patients With Castration-resistant Prostate Cancer

Treatment Review

Neal D ShoreRaoul S ConcepcionChristopher M PieczonkaVladimir MouravievNeil MariadosRobert B SimsMark Emberton

Immunotherapy encourages the recipient’s own immune response to destroy cancer cells, and current evidence suggests that immunotherapies may be most beneficial in early metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC). Sipuleucel-T is the first therapeutic cancer vaccine to be approved by both the US Food and Drug Administration and European Medicines Agency for the treatment of asymptomatic or minimally symptomatic mCRPC. Combining immunotherapy with other treatments may have potent anticancer effects; cytoreductive therapies can release tumor antigens and promote a proinflammatory environment that could augment immunotherapies. However, some cytoreductive agents or coadministered drugs may be immunosuppressive. Understanding these interactions between different mCRPC treatment modalities may offer further potential to improve patient outcomes. [Rev Urol. 2014;16(3):122-130 doi: 10.3909/riu0637] © 2014 MedReviews®, LLC

Prostate cancerSipuleucel-TCombination therapy

Mark H KatzView Articles

Volume 9, Supplement 2Review Articles

High-Risk, Clinically Localized Prostate Cancer: Is Monotherapy Adequate?

Androgen-Independent Prostate Cancer

Mark H KatzJames M McKiernan

High-risk, clinically localized prostate cancer represents a diverse disease entity. Patients who are considered to be at highest risk for biochemical failure after localized treatments may not be at significant risk for diseasespecific mortality. In this review, an attempt will be made to define high-risk status and help identify patients at high risk for mortality after a diagnosis of localized prostate cancer. Subsequently, a review of monotherapy approaches as well as previously successful strategies utilizing multimodality therapy for high-risk disease will be presented. Finally, a synopsis will be given of several ongoing randomized clinical trials using the most effective systemic therapies in the adjuvant setting following thorough local treatments such as radical prostatectomy. This review will provide a glimpse into the future and describe the tools that it is hoped will improve further upon the results of surgical monotherapy for high-risk, localized prostate cancer. [Rev Urol. 2007;9(suppl 2):S19-S27]

Prostate cancerRadical prostatectomyHigh-risk, localized prostate cancerMortality riskMultimodality therapy

Mark J SwierzewskiView Articles
Mark JalkutView Articles
Mark MemoView Articles

Volume 19, Number 1Case Review

Bladder Cancer That Metastasized to the Skin: A Unique Presentation That Signifies Poor Prognosis

Tal CohenMark MemoDaniel Ricchiuti

In the United States in 2015, an estimated 74,000 new cases of bladder cancer were diagnosed and approximately 16,000 deaths were due to bladder cancer. We present a rare case of a patient with aggressive bladder cancer who presented with multiple inguinal and scrotal skin lesions that were proven to be metastatic urothelial malignancy. Bladder malignancy can involve the skin by direct tumor invasion, hematogenous routes, lymphatic spread, and direct seeding due to iatrogenic implantation. The cutaneous lesions have an extremely variable appearance, are resistant to therapies, and signify a dismal prognosis. [Rev Urol. 2017;19(1):68-71 doi: 10.3909/riu0740] © 2017 MedReviews®, LLC

Bladder cancerCutaneous metastasisUrothelial malignancy

Mark PainterView Articles

Volume 23, Number 4Coding Corner

Reimbursement Considerations for Instillation of Medications to Treat Low-Grade Upper Tract Urothelial Carcinoma

Jonathan RubensteinMark PainterCeleste Kirschner

Unlike non–muscle invasive bladder cancer, which can be treated with surgical and intravesical medication administration, upper tract urothelial (renal pelvis and ureter) cancer was historically treated only surgically. If a tumor could not be treated with ureteroscopic or percutaneous surgical control, removal of the kidney and ureter was often the only treatment option. When mitomycin for pyelocalyceal instillation 0.4% gel for low-grade upper urothelial cancer became commercially available, nonsurgical treatment became possible.

MitomycinAdministration intravesicalureteral neoplasms

Mark SchwartzView Articles
Mark ZaontzView Articles
Markus HohenfellnerView Articles

Volume 13, Number 1Review Articles

Infantile Enuresis: Current State-of-the-Art Therapy and Future Trends

Disease State Review

Franklin E KuehhasNenad DjakovicMarkus Hohenfellner

"Enuresis nocturna is a widespread problem among children, with up to 25% of all children possibly suffering from this condition. Several therapeutic modalities are currently available. This article reviews current state-of-the-art therapies, highlights current literature, and provides an update on recent developments within the field of enuresis nocturna. [Rev Urol. 2011;13(1):1-5 doi: 10.3909/riu0498]"

DesmopressinEnuresis nocturnaAlarm therapyImipramineReboxetineGiggle incontinenceMethylphenidatePelvic floor muscle exercise

Markus MargreiterView Articles

Volume 11, Number 3Review Articles

Screening for Prostate Cancer: A Review of the ERSPC and PLCO Trials

Management Update

Herbert LeporSamir S TanejaBob DjavanElisabeth EckersbergerJulia FinkelsteinHelen SadriMarkus Margreiter

The advent of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) testing in the early 1980srevolutionized the diagnosis of prostate cancer. As a result of PSA testing,there has been a surge in the number of prostate cancer diagnoses. Thisreview examines the results of 2 recent landmark trials that studied the effectof screening on prostate cancer mortality: the European Randomized Study ofScreening for Prostate Cancer (ERSPC) and the US-based Prostate, Lung,Colorectal, and Ovarian (PLCO) Cancer Screening Trial.[Rev Urol. 2009;11(3):127-133 doi: 10.3909/riu0474]

PSA screeningEuropean Randomized Study of Screening for Prostate Cancer(ERSPC)Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian (PLCO) Cancer Screening Trial

Marnique BastoView Articles
Martin E GleaveView Articles
Martin I ResnickView Articles
Martin MinerView Articles

Volume 16, Number 4Review Articles

Erectile Dysfunction and Essential Hypertension: The Same Aging-related Disorder?

Screening Update

Raul I ClavijoMartin MinerJacob Rajfe

An erection is a mechanical event dependent primarily on corporeal vascular dynamics wherein arterial inflow and storage of blood within the corpora is greater than the egress of blood from the corpora. The most common cause of erectile dysfunction (ED) is the inability of the corporal tissue to store the blood within the corporal sinusoids once inflow into the corpora begins. This failure to store is primarily due to a corporal smooth muscle dysfunction and, in most men, is most likely an aging-related occurrence. Because the corporal smooth muscle is embryologically and physiologically indistinguishable from the smooth muscle within our arterial system, the authors hypothesize that the aging-related dysfunction that occurs within the penis also occurs within the arterial system, and that this smooth muscle dysfunction within the arterial media is most likely the cause of what is called essential hypertension. This panvascular smooth muscle myopathy could explain why hypertension is the most common comorbidity associated with ED and appears to indicate that both ED and essential hypertension are the same disorder, albeit in two different organ systems. [Rev Urol. 2014;16(4):167-171 doi: 10.3909/riu0631] © 2014 MedReviews®, LLC

HypertensionErectionEndotheliumSmooth muscle

Martin NewmanView Articles
Martin SheriffView Articles

Volume 16, Number 2Review Articles

Solitary Renal Fossa Recurrence of Renal Cell Carcinoma After Nephrectomy

Treatment Review

Kamran AhmedJi-Jian ChowZahoor FaziliMohammed SheikhMartin Sheriff

Renal cell carcinoma without metastasis responds well to surgical excision but is known to recur postnephrectomy. In a small but significant number of patients this recurrence is not accompanied by metastasis, which is important as these people benefit from further surgery. We examined 20 articles from the current literature to ascertain how best to treat this condition. Surgical management renders better results than conservative or medical therapies. Readily available investigations such as blood tests and computed tomography can help determine the right patients for surgery in an evidence-based fashion. Current findings have allowed us to suggest a protocol for the treatment of solitary renal fossa recurrence of postnephrectomy renal cell carcinoma. There are further opportunities for study in validating our protocol, and in novel renal cell carcinoma treatment strategies that have not been tested on solitary renal fossa recurrences. [Rev Urol. 2014;16(2):76-82 doi: 10.3909/riu0598] © 2014 MedReviews®, LLC

ComplicationsManagementRenal cancerRecurrenceNephrectomy

Mary B AjadiView Articles

Volume 15, Number 3Review Articles

Prostate-Specific Antigen: Any Successor in Sight?

Diagnostic Review

Aniebietabasi S ObortMary B AjadiOluyemi Akinloye

Prostate cancer (PCa) is the most frequently diagnosed malignancy and the second leading cause of cancer death in men in the United States and other parts of the world. The lifetime risk of being diagnosed with PCa is approximately 16%. At present, the only widely accepted screening tools for PCa are prostate-specific antigen (PSA) and digital rectal examination. PSA is known to be prostate specific, but not PCa specific, and hence lacks the sensitivity to detect a large number of tumors, especially during the early stages. The PSA level is also known to be affected by many factors, such as medication, inflammation (benign prostatic hyperplasia and prostatitis), and urologic manipulation; hence, the controversy regarding the appropriate level of serum PSA that should trigger a biopsy or have clinical relevance to prostate metastases. Attempts to determine the level of prostate cells in peripheral blood by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction did not significantly improve cancer diagnosis or predict postoperative failure. Therefore, the search continues for a novel biomarker or a panel of markers as well as other possible interventions to improve the use of PSA. This article reviews several possibilities. [Rev Urol. 2013;15(3):97-107 doi 10.3909/riu0567] © 2013 MedReviews®, LLC

Prostate-specific antigenProstate carcinomaProstate diagnostic or screening test

Mary M SmithView Articles

Volume 22, Number 2Review Articles

Implementation of a Centralized, Cost-effective Call Center in a Large Urology Community Practice

Original Research

Gary M KirshStephen F KappaChris McClainKrista WallacePaul CinquinaDon LawsonMary M SmithEarl WalzBrooke Edwards

Call centers provide front-line care and service to patients. This study compared call-answering efficiency and costs between the implementation of an internal, centralized call center (January to July 2019) and previously outsourced call-center services (January to July 2018) for a large urology community practice. Retrospective review of call metrics and cost data was performed. Internal call-center leadership, training, and culture was examined through survey of staff and management. A total of 299,028 calls with an average of 5751 calls per week were answered during the study periods. The Average Speed of Answer (ASA) was 1:42 (min:s) for the outsourced call center and 0:14 for the internal call center (P < 0.001), with 70% of outsourced calls answered under 2 minutes compared with 99% of calls for the internal call center (P < 0.001). The Average Handle Time (AHT) for each outsourced call was 5:32 versus 3:41 for the internal call center (P < 0.001). The total operating expenses were 7.7% lower for the internal call center. Surveys revealed the importance of engaged leadership and staff training with feedback, simplified work algorithms, and expanded clinical roles. We found that internal, centralized call centers may provide a call-answering solution with greater efficiency and lower total operating expense versus an outsourced call center for large surgical practices. A culture that emphasizes continuous improvement and empowers call-center staff with expanded clinical roles may ultimately enhance patient communication and service. [Rev Urol. 2020;22(2):67–74] © 2020 MedReviews®, LLC

Cost effectivenessCall centerTelehealthOrganizational efficiency

Mary McNaughton CollinsView Articles