Retrocaval ureter is a rare anomaly in which the ureter passes behind the inferior vena cava due to abnormal embryogenesis. Very few cases have been reported from Africa. Although the anomaly is congenital, patients become symptomatic in the third or fourth decade of life. We reviewed the records of four patients with the diagnosis of retrocaval ureter and managed in our centre between January 2010 and December 2016. Three patients presented with recurrent colicky right flank pain while one was asymptomatic. Two patients each had Type I and Type II retrocaval ureters, respectively. Surgical repairs were achieved in the three symptomatic cases and recovery was uneventful. Retrocaval ureter, though congenital, manifests in young adults and it may be symptomatic. Pre-operative diagnosis may be difficult when the lesion is high and mimics pelviureteric junction obstruction. Thus, a high index of suspicion is required for pre-operative diagnosis. Under-reporting and asymptomatic cases may account for the low incidence.

Summary Background Risk of mortality following surgery in patients across Africa is twice as high as the global average. Most of these deaths occur on hospital wards after the surgery itself. We aimed to assess whether enhanced postoperative surveillance of adult surgical patients at high risk of postoperative morbidity or mortality in Africa could reduce 30-day in-hospital mortality. Methods We did a two-arm, open-label, cluster-randomised trial of hospitals (clusters) across Africa. Hospitals were eligible if they provided surgery with an overnight postoperative admission. Hospitals were randomly assigned through minimisation in recruitment blocks (1:1) to provide patients with either a package of enhanced postoperative surveillance interventions (admitting the patient to higher care ward, increasing the frequency of postoperative nursing observations, assigning the patient to a bed in view of the nursing station, allowing family members to stay in the ward, and placing a postoperative surveillance guide at the bedside) for those at high risk (ie, with African Surgical Outcomes Study Surgical Risk Calculator scores ≥10) and usual care for those at low risk (intervention group), or for all patients to receive usual postoperative care (control group). Health-care providers and participants were not masked, but data assessors were. The primary outcome was 30-day in-hospital mortality of patients at low and high risk, measured at the participant level. All analyses were done as allocated (by cluster) in all patients with available data. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov , NCT03853824 . Findings Between May 3, 2019, and July 27, 2020, 594 eligible hospitals indicated a desire to participate across 33 African countries; 332 (56%) were able to recruit participants and were included in analyses. We allocated 160 hospitals (13 275 patients) to provide enhanced postoperative surveillance and 172 hospitals (15 617 patients) to provide standard care. The mean age of participants was 37·1 years (SD 15·5) and 20 039 (69·4%) of 28 892 patients were women. 30-day in-hospital mortality occurred in 169 (1·3%) of 12 970 patients with mortality data in the intervention group and in 193 (1·3%) of 15 242 patients with mortality data in the control group (relative risk 0·96, 95% CI 0·69–1·33; p=0·79). 45 (0·2%) of 22 031 patients at low risk and 309 (5·6%) of 5500 patients at high risk died. No harms associated with either intervention were reported. Interpretation This intervention package did not decrease 30-day in-hospital mortality among surgical patients in Africa at high risk of postoperative morbidity or mortality. Further research is needed to develop interventions that prevent death from surgical complications in resource-limited hospitals across Africa. Funding Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the World Federati...

Background The aim of the study is to find the correlation between the prostate volume and severity of lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) as measured by international prostate symptoms score and maximum urine flow rate among patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). Methods The study was a prospective correlational study conducted between June 2016 and November 2017. A total of 290 patients who presented with LUTS suggestive of BPH and satisfied the inclusion criteria were consecutively recruited. Clinical evaluation including digital rectal examination of the prostate was done. Symptoms severity was assessed using the self-administered international prostate symptoms score (IPSS) questionnaire. Prostate volume was determined by transrectal ultrasound scan, and the urine flow rate was measured using uroflowmeter. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 20.0, and p value < 0.05 was taken to be statistically significant. Results The mean age of the patients was 64.22 ± 9.04 years with a range of 40 to 95 years. Most of the patients had moderate symptoms (55%) on IPSS with the mean IPSS value of 16.41 ± 7.43. The mean Qmax value was 16.55 ± 7.41 ml/s, and the median prostate volume (IQR) was 45.05 (35, 59). There was a positive significant correlation between prostate volume and IPSS (r = 0.179, p = 0.002) and a negative significant correlation between prostate volume and Qmax (r = − 0.176, p = 0.003). Conclusion This study showed a significant correlation between the prostate volume and IPSS, and also between prostate volume and maximum flow rate (Qmax).