Introduction As the use of social media becomes more prevalent within healthcare practices, it is important to understand how patients may engage with social media posts by their physicians. The conditions addressed within the field of urology are often particularly sensitive in nature, particularly within the realm of sexual medicine. Therefore, patients might be less likely to engage with social media posts from their urologists based on their own comfort levels and privacy concerns. A previous study evaluating this interaction determined the likelihood to engage varied based on age and gender. However, social media engagement patterns in sensitive topics based on socioeconomic background have not been previously evaluated. Objective This study aims to determine the likelihood of patients in a community urology practice to engage with sensitive social media posts by their urologist according to socioeconomic factors. The likelihood to engage actively (defined as commenting or sharing) versus passively (defined as liking a post) on two different topics within the scope of urology was determined. The two topics used were erectile dysfunction (ED)/urinary incontinence and kidney stone prevention. Methods Participants completed a survey that included basic demographic questions as well as questions determining their potential likelihood to engage on the different topics using a visual analog 5-point Likert scale. Responses on the Likert scale were given a value of one (very unlikely) to five (very likely), and a two-tailed Mann-Whitney U test with an α of 0.05 was used to determine the significance of differences in responses. For analysis of the Likert scale responses, only those respondents who had social media accounts were included. Results The final sample consisted of 293 responses with a 93.0% response rate. Of respondents, 65.7% had a social media account. Of those respondents that had a social media account, 50.5% had an annual income under $50,000. There was no significant difference in the likelihood to follow their urologist on social media for those with an annual income under $50,000 in comparison to those over $50,000. When looking at the overall likelihood of engagement, those with an annual income of less than $50,000 were more likely to actively engage compared to those making over $50,000 (p-value = 0.02. When stratifying by topic, those making less than $50,000 were more likely to actively engage on the topic of ED/urinary incontinence than those making more than $50,000 (p-value = 0.02). Conclusions Patient education via social media is an effective tool for urology practices to engage with patients. Engagement with this content is greater among lower-income patients. Further investigation is needed to determine whether increased engagement with online content translates to improved health outcomes. Disclosure No
Introduction Penile Doppler Ultrasound (PDU) is a non-invasive diagnostic test used to assess organic erectile dysfunction (ED) and Peyronie’s disease and characterize functional changes in penile blood flow. Quantitative measurements taken during penile Doppler testing include changes in cavernosal artery diameter, the velocity of blood flow in the cavernosal artery in systolic and diastolic phases, and a calculated resistive index. It remains poorly understood which of these parameters best predict response to intracavernosal injection therapy and how they are influenced by comorbidities such as age, diabetes, smoking, hypertension, and obesity. Objective The objective of this study is to assess which parameters best predict response to intracavernosal trimix injection and determine the utility of measuring cavernosal artery diameter during penile Doppler testing. Methods This study is a single institutional retrospective cross-sectional review of men undergoing workup for organic ED and/or Peyronie's disease who elected to undergo penile Doppler testing. Only patients who received a standardized 30-1-10 trimix injection were included. Dosing was determined based on age and risk factors using a nomogram, and redosing was performed if the erection quality was below subjective optimal erection quality at home. Baseline cavernosal artery and plaque imaging were performed, and repeat measurements were obtained at 10 minutes following trimix injection. Results 93 men were included in the study with a median age of 59 (IQR 51-67). 47% carried a diagnosis of Peyronie's, 41% had hypertension, 29% were obese, and 30% were smokers. 40% met the criteria for venous leak (RI <0.8). Erectile hardness scale (EHS) scores of 1-4 were documented in 5, 21, 61, and 5 patients, respectively. Linear regression demonstrated no significant relationship between the change in cavernosal artery diameter and trimix dose, resistive index, comorbidities or other Doppler parameters measured. There was no direct relationship between the EHS scores and cavernosal artery dilation. However, there was a statistically significant relationship between EHS and age (p=0.004), trimix dose (p=0.008), and resistive index (p=0.001) on univariate regression. A multivariable model containing age, comorbidities, and these parameters correctly explained 31% of the variance demonstrated (p=0.001). Conclusions Provider-determined EHS scores were directly proportional to patient age, trimix dose, and resistive indices but not to changes in cavernosal artery diameter. Our findings suggest that this measurement may be safely omitted during the evaluation of organic ED and Peyronie’s Disease without changes in diagnostic or management pathways. Disclosure No
Introduction Antegrade ejaculation is a fundamental aspect of sexual satisfaction for many individuals, but retrograde ejaculation (RE) occurs in up to 75 % of some surgical treatments of benign prostatic hyperplasia. Unfortunately, clinicians commonly focus only primarily on erection strength, and existing tools inadequately characterize rates and bother associated with RE after BPH treatment. Objective This review provides critical appraisal of existing tools used to assess RE and emphasizes the importance of preoperative counseling of this complication prior to surgical BPH treatment. Methods A literature review was conducted in June of 2022 using Embase, Medline, and Web of Science to identify relevant manuscripts on “men sexual health”, “men’s sexual health questionnaire (MSHQ), and “retrograde”, “dry”, or “backward” “ejaculate” or “orgasm” from 1946 to June 2022. Eligibility criteria were established by using Population, Intervention, Control, and Outcome (PICO) tool for men with BPH symptoms treated with surgical intervention and developed postoperative RE. Criteria for exclusion were manuscripts in non-English language and studies reporting rates of RE without specifying the criteria used to diagnose the condition. Results A literature review was conducted in June of 2022 using Embase, Medline, and Web of Science to identify relevant manuscripts on “men sexual health”, “men’s sexual health questionnaire (MSHQ), and “retrograde”, “dry”, or “backward” “ejaculate” or “orgasm” from 1946 to June 2022. Eligibility criteria were established by using Population, Intervention, Control, and Outcome (PICO) tool for men with BPH symptoms treated with surgical intervention and developed postoperative RE. Criteria for exclusion were manuscripts in non-English language and studies reporting rates of RE without specifying the criteria used to diagnose the condition. Conclusions Significant limitations exist in the tools presently available for the reporting of RE related to BPH treatment. With ejaculation playing a very important role in sexual satisfaction for many men, more robust and specific instruments are needed to help with the diagnosis. Through development of such tools, patients will be better counseled and satisfaction with treatments will be improved. Optimized questioning needs to take into consideration both baseline and post-treatment ejaculatory function – including granular specifics on force, volume, sensation, and level of bother rather than general questions on ejaculatory functioning measured on a very broad scale. Disclosure No
Introduction Despite an increasing number of publications on Peyronie's disease (PD), evidence-based clinical decision making remains challenging due to the small number of well-designed clinical trials. The quality of available PD literature has not been assessed to date. Objective We sought to evaluate the quality of the methodology and reporting of systematic reviews and meta-analyses in PD literature Methods Study protocol registration was performed on the Open Science Framework platform. In January 2021, a systematic electronic search of the Medline/PubMed, Embase, Ovid, Scopus, Joanne Briggs Institute and Cochrane databases was performed. Search terms included “Peyronie's disease” and “systematic review OR meta-analysis OR meta analysis”. Eligibility criteria were relevance to Peyronie's disease and specification of “systematic review” or “meta-analysis” in the title or abstract. A database was created to summarize the relevant methodological and reporting criteria for each article. The outcomes included review type, authorship, journal, publication date, “A MeaSurement Tool to Assess systematic Reviews” (AMSTAR-2) score and “Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses” (PRISMA) score. Risk of bias was assessed using the ROBIS tool. Data were tabulated and reported as means with standard deviation, median with interquartile range (IQR) and t-testing as appropriate. Strength of association between variables was calculated using the Pearson correlation coefficient. Statistical analyses were performed on RStudio (version 1.4.1106). Results From 1974 to 2021, 340 articles were identified. After review 23 full length articles were included. Seventeen were systematic reviews, 4 meta-analyses and 2 were combined. Twenty-one (87.5%) articles were published after the year 2009 when the PRISMA guidelines were published. There was median 53.8% (IQR 38.2%) adherence to AMSTAR-2 criteria and 66.7% (IQR 38.9%) adherence to PRISMA criteria. The overall AMSTAR confidence rating was Critically Low in 15/23 studies, indicating more than one critical flaw. Correlation analysis revealed very high positive association between AMSTAR 2 and PRISMA adherence (+0.97). ROBIS revealed “High” concern regarding methods used to collect data and appraise 17/23 studies (73.9%), and “High” concern regarding synthesis and findings in 14/23 studies (60.9%). Conclusions Transparent reporting of methodology and findings in SRs and MAs is crucial to maintaining research integrity and allowing for accurate interpretation of results. Despite an increasing number of publications in PD, many of these studies fail to meet accepted methodological criteria for reporting. More high quality randomized controlled trials in PD are necessary; while systematic reviews and meta-analyses should focus on these high-quality studies with uniform use of accepted reporting guidelines. Disclosure No
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