Context: Prostatic artery embolization (PAE) has been introduced into clinical practice for the treatment of lower urinary tract symptoms secondary to benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH-LUTS) despite a lack of high-level evidence. Objective: To perform a systematic review and meta-analysis of clinical trials comparing efficacy and safety of PAE versus established surgical therapies. Evidence acquisition: Medline, Embase, and York CRD were searched up to June 23, 2018. Only comparative studies were included. The risk of bias was assessed by the Cochrane Collaboration tool. Meta-analyses were performed using RevMan 5.3. Evidence synthesis: Five studies including 708 patients met the selection criteria. Risk of bias was rated high for most of the studies. Mean reduction in the International Prostate Symptom Score was lower after PAE compared with standard surgical therapies (mean difference 3.80 points [95% confidence interval: 2.77-4.83]; p < 0.001). PAE was less efficient regarding improvements in all functional parameters assessed including maximum urinary flow, post void residual, and reduction of prostate volume.In contrast, patient-reported erectile function (International Index of Erectile Function 5) was better after PAE and significantly fewer adverse events occurred after PAE. Conclusions: Moderately strong evidence confirms efficacy and safety of PAE in the treatment of BPH-LUTS in the short term. Significant advantages regarding safety and sexual function, but clear disadvantages regarding all other patient-reported and functional outcomes were found for PAE. Large-scale randomized controlled trials including longer follow-up periods are mandatory before PAE can be considered as a standard therapy and to define the ideal indication for PAE in the management of BPH-LUTS. Patient summary: We reviewed the role of prostatic artery embolization (PAE) in the treatment of symptoms associated with benign overgrowth of the prostate. The results suggest that PAE is not as effective as established surgical therapies but has fewer side y These authors contributed equally. * Corresponding author. Kantonsspital St. Gallen,

Temporary drainage of the upper urinary tract by internal ureteral stents is a routine procedure in endourology. However, it is associated with a clear side-effect profile. Our aim was to evaluate prevention and treatment options of stent-related symptoms. We carried out a systematic review according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis guidelines using MEDLINE and SCOPUS, and identified 107 appropriate records. A high number of these studies showed clear methodological limitations. Available data clearly support the use of a 1 -blockers in patients suffering from stent-related symptoms. It seems that antimuscarinic monotherapy or combination with a 1 -blockers might also play an important role, whereas the use of classical analgesics in the treatment of stent-related symptoms has not been assessed systematically within clinical trials so far. Improvements in stent design and material seem to have the potential to reduce stent-related symptoms. However, so far there is no type of stent with outstanding characteristics and clear evidence suggesting fundamental advantages compared with a standard double pigtail stent. Although stent diameter does not seem to influence patients' comfort, it seems to be beneficial to choose a proper stent-length. Coated and drug-eluting stents, as well as intravesical drug application, seem to be promising concepts to prevent stent-related symptoms, but still have to be considered as experimental approaches. Furthermore, thorough patient education has the potential to reduce the morbidity associated with ureteral stenting. Further research in the field seems to be mandatory.

BackgroundSeveral societies around the world issue guidelines incorporating the latest evidence. However, even the most commonly cited guidelines of the European Association of Urology (EAU) and the American Urological Association (AUA) leave the clinician with several treatment options and differ on specific points. We aimed to identify discrepancies and areas of consensus between guidelines to give novel insights into areas where low consensus between the guideline panels exists, and therefore where more evidence might increase consensus.MethodsThe webpages of the 61 members of the Societé Internationale d’Urologie were analysed to identify all listed or linked guidelines. Decision trees for the surgical management of urolithiasis were derived, and a comparative analysis was performed to determine consensus and discrepancies.ResultsFive national and one international guideline (EAU) on surgical stone treatment were available for analysis. While 7 national urological societies refer to the AUA guidelines and 11 to the EAU guidelines, 43 neither publish their own guidelines nor refer to others. Comparative analysis revealed a high degree of consensus for most renal and ureteral stone scenarios. Nevertheless, we also identified a variety of discrepancies between the different guidelines, the largest being the approach to the treatment of proximal ureteral calculi and larger renal calculi.ConclusionsSix guidelines with recommendations for the surgical treatment of urolithiasis to support urologists in decision-making were available for inclusion in our analysis. While there is a high grade of consensus for most stone scenarios, we also detected some discrepancies between different guidelines. These are, however, controversial situations where adequate evidence to assist with decision-making has yet to be elicited by further research.

Objectives To assess the quality of videos on the surgical treatment of lower urinary tract symptoms associated with benign prostatic hyperplasia (LUTS/BPH) available on YouTube, given that such video‐sharing platforms are frequently used as sources of patient information and the therapeutic landscape of LUTS/BPH has evolved substantially during recent years. Materials and Methods A systematic search for videos on YouTube addressing treatment options for LUTS/BPH was performed in May 2019. Measures assessed included basic data (e.g. number of views), grade of misinformation and reporting of conflicts of interest. The quality of content was analysed using the validated DISCERN questionnaire. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics. Results A total of 159 videos with a median (range) of 8570 (648–2 384 391) views were included in the analysis. Only 21 videos (13.2%) were rated as containing no misinformation, 26 (16.4%) were free of commercial bias, and two (1.3%) disclosed potential conflicts of interest. According to DISCERN, the median overall quality of the videos was low (2 out of 5 points for question 16). Only four of the 15 assessed categories (bipolar and holmium laser enucleation of the prostate, transurethral resection of the prostate and patient‐based search terms) were scored as having moderate median overall quality (3 points). Conclusion Most videos on the surgical treatment of LUTS/BPH on YouTube had a low quality of content, provided misinformation, were subject to commercial bias and did not report on conflicts of interest. These findings emphasize the importance of thorough doctor–patient communication and active recommendation of unbiased patient education materials.

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