No abstract

Long-term conservative approaches for asymptomatic renal stones are an effective management option with ~60% of renal units remaining on active surveillance in >5 years of follow-up. Appropriate counselling with careful patient selection is advocated, as younger patients and those with evidence of stone growth were found to be at greatest risk of an adverse outcome.

Malakoplakia is a rare, granulomatous condition most commonly found in the genitourinary tract. It can present in a myriad of ways depending on the organ involved, thus presenting a huge diagnostic challenge. We present 4 patients with genitourinary malakoplakia, who manifested with recurrent urinary tract infection (UTI) and hematuria in all except one, who presented with hydronephrosis secondary to a large pelvic mass. We discuss the need for a high index of suspicion and careful scrutiny of histology to order to avoid misdiagnosis as simple long term antibiotics are an effective treatment in all but those with large pelvic masses.

No abstract

There was some evidence to suggest that alpha blockers increase the success rates of trial without catheter, and the incidence of adverse effects was low. There was some evidence of a decreased incidence of acute urinary retention. The need for further surgery, cost effectiveness and recommended duration of alpha blocker treatment after successful trial without catheter remain unknown as these were not reported by any trial. There is a lack of internationally agreed outcome measures for what constitutes successful trial without catheter. This makes meta-analysis difficult. Large, well-designed controlled trials, which use the recommendations set out in the CONSORT statement, and include clinically important outcome measures, are required.