Here are what the editors at HealthDay consider to be the most important developments in Urology for February 2010. This roundup includes the latest research news from journal articles, as well as the FDA approvals and regulatory changes that are the most likely to affect clinical practice.
Outcomes Similar for Open and Laparoscopic Prostate Surgery
FRIDAY, Feb. 26 (HealthDay News) -- Men with prostate cancer have similar postoperative complications and need for additional treatment regardless of whether they undergo radical prostatectomy by an open or laparoscopic procedure, according to a study published online Feb. 25 in The Journal of Urology.
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Role of Diet in Bladder Cancer Patient Care Assessed
THURSDAY, Feb. 25 (HealthDay News) -- Certain foods are associated with an increased or a decreased risk of bladder cancer, and diet should be a component of care for patients with the disease, according to an article published in the February issue of Urology.
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Vitamin D Receptor Inhibitors Block Prostate Cancer Growth
THURSDAY, Feb. 25 (HealthDay News) -- Vitamin D receptor (VDR) agonists can reduce the growth of prostate cancer cells containing a common, androgen-regulated, growth-promoting gene fusion, according to a study published online Feb. 10 in Endocrinology.
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Model Predicts Risk of Prostate Cancer After Negative Biopsy
THURSDAY, Feb. 25 (HealthDay News) -- A model that takes changes in risk factors over time into account can predict who is at high risk of developing prostate cancer among men whose biopsies are initially negative, according to a study published online Feb. 22 in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
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Nephron-Sparing Surgery Viable Option in Kidney Cancer
WEDNESDAY, Feb. 24 (HealthDay News) -- Nephron-sparing surgery confers the same degree of cancer control as radical nephrectomy when treating T1bN0M0 renal cell carcinoma, according to a study in the February issue of Urology.
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Physicians Working Fewer Hours for Lower Fees
TUESDAY, Feb. 23 (HealthDay News) -- Physicians in the United States have been working fewer hours for lower fees in the past decade, according to research published in the Feb. 24 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
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Mouse Experiment Finds New Biomarkers for Lupus Nephritis
MONDAY, Feb. 22 (HealthDay News) -- The elevation of total urinary protease and several urinary proteins may offer novel biomarkers in the diagnosis of lupus nephritis, according to a mouse study in the Feb. 15 issue of the Journal of Immunology.
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Cell-Free DNA Integrity May Serve as Marker in Kidney Cancer
MONDAY, Feb. 22 (HealthDay News) -- Serum cell-free DNA (cf-DNA) integrity may serve as a predictive marker for the diagnosis and detection of clear renal cell carcinoma (cRCC), according to a study in the February issue of Urology.
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Medical Checklists Needed to Improve Care and Outcomes
MONDAY, Feb. 22 (HealthDay News) -- The checklists so common in aviation and many professions are underused in medicine and, if more widely adopted, would provide powerful tools to standardize care and improve patient outcomes, according to an article published Dec. 31 in Critical Care.
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H. Pylori Often Unrelated to Children's Gastrointestinal Pain
TUESDAY, Feb. 16 (HealthDay News) -- In pediatric patients with gastrointestinal symptoms, Helicobacter pylori infection is not likely associated with recurrent abdominal pain (RAP), but it may be associated with unspecified abdominal pain (UAP) and epigastric pain, according to a review published online Feb. 15 in Pediatrics.
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Metastatic Prostate Cancer Mechanism Identified
MONDAY, Feb. 15 (HealthDay News) -- An oncogene tumor-suppressor cascade may drive metastatic prostate cancer, according to research published online Feb. 14 in Nature Medicine.
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2009 H1N1-Related Deaths and Hospitalizations Examined
MONDAY, Feb. 15 (HealthDay News) -- The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has provided updated estimates of the 2009 H1N1 cases, related hospitalizations and deaths, with approximately 57 million cases occurring between April 2009 and January 2010.
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Mnemonic Device for Patient Decision-Making Assessed
FRIDAY, Feb. 12 (HealthDay News) -- Clinicians who must quickly assess a patient's capacity to make an emergency treatment decision can now fall back on a new mnemonic device, "CURVES," developed at Johns Hopkins University and reviewed in the February issue of Chest.
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Vesicoureteral Reflux Treatment in Children Studied
FRIDAY, Feb. 12 (HealthDay News) -- The treating hospital is the most important factor affecting treatment choice in children with vesicoureteral reflux (VUR), a condition characterized by an abnormal flow of urine from the bladder back into the ureter, according to research published online Feb. 8 in Pediatrics.
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Laparoscopic Practice Takes Physical Toll on Surgeons
THURSDAY, Feb. 11 (HealthDay News) -- Many surgeons who perform laparoscopic surgery suffer pain, numbness, stiffness, fatigue and other physical symptoms, often as a result of high case load, according to a study published online Dec. 24 ahead of print in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons.
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Dietary Supplement Suspected of Causing Selenium Poisoning
THURSDAY, Feb. 11 (HealthDay News) -- A liquid dietary supplement that contained 200 times the labeled concentration of selenium caused a widespread outbreak of selenium poisoning affecting 201 people in 10 states, according to a study published in the Feb. 8 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.
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AHRQ: U.S. Adults Seeing Big Barriers to Specialty Care
WEDNESDAY, Feb. 10 (HealthDay News) -- In 2007, about one in 13 of U.S. adults reported that access to specialist care was a "big problem," according to a December report issued by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).
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FDA Initiative Aims to Cut Medical Radiation Exposure
WEDNESDAY, Feb. 10 (HealthDay News) -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has launched a new initiative that aims to reduce exposure to radiation from computed tomography (CT), nuclear medicine studies and fluoroscopy, the three procedures that are the main sources of medically-related radiation exposure.
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Reimbursement Changes in Office Endoscopies Studied
TUESDAY, Feb. 9 (HealthDay News) -- A 2005 increase in Medicare reimbursement to encourage office-based endoscopic surgeries for bladder cancer instead of more costly hospital surgeries had the unintended effect of disproportionately increasing in-office procedures and driving up Medicare costs, according to a study published online Feb. 8 in Cancer.
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H1N1 Vaccination Still Highly Recommended
MONDAY, Feb. 8 (HealthDay News) -- Despite H1N1 virus levels stabilizing, transmission remains an issue and vaccination continues to be an effective option for prevention of this potentially serious condition, according to a Feb. 5 press briefing by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control.
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Many American Adults Do Not Get Recommended Vaccines
MONDAY, Feb. 8 (HealthDay News) -- Although most parents ensure their children are vaccinated, adults often do not receive recommended vaccinations themselves, according to a new report, Adult Immunization: Shots to Save Lives.
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Coalition Launches Campaign to Limit Residents' Hours
FRIDAY, Feb. 5 (HealthDay News) -- To prevent medical errors caused by doctor fatigue, a coalition of public interest and patient safety groups is urging the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) to limit the amount of time residents must work without sleep to 16 hours and to increase resident supervision.
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Health Care Spending Makes Record Leap in GDP Share
THURSDAY, Feb. 4 (HealthDay News) -- A growth in health spending in 2009, coupled with a sagging economy, created the largest one-year jump in health care's share of the nation's gross domestic product since 1960, according to an article published online Feb. 4 in Health Affairs.
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Positive Dipstick Heme Results Appear to Need More Scrutiny
THURSDAY, Feb. 4 (HealthDay News) -- Patients testing positive on dipstick heme tests should have confirmation with microscopic urinalysis before they're further evaluated or referred to a urologist, according to research published in the February issue of The Journal of Urology.
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Diversity Growth Incremental in the Medical Professions
THURSDAY, Feb. 4 (HealthDay News) -- One hundred years after the Flexner Report recommended closing five of the seven African-American medical schools then extant, African-Americans and other minorities remain grossly underrepresented in the medical professions, according to an article in the February issue of Academic Medicine.
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The Lancet Retracts Study Linking MMR Vaccine, Autism
WEDNESDAY, Feb. 3 (HealthDay News) -- On Feb. 2, The Lancet retracted a controversial 1998 study that linked the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine to autism and gastrointestinal problems.
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Significance of Proteinuria Levels in Kidney Failure Studied
TUESDAY, Feb. 2 (HealthDay News) -- At a given level of estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), individuals with higher levels of proteinuria face greater risks of mortality, myocardial infarction, and progression to kidney failure, according to research published in the Feb. 3 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
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Androgen Deprivation Therapy and Cardiac Risk Link Assessed
TUESDAY, Feb. 2 (HealthDay News) -- The use of androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) to treat prostate cancer may be associated with cardiovascular risk, according to an article published online Feb. 1 in Circulation.
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President Proposes $911 Billion Budget for HHS
TUESDAY, Feb. 2 (HealthDay News) -- As part of his 2011 budget proposal, President Barack Obama has proposed $911 billion for the U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) Department, according to a Feb. 1 announcement by the secretary of HHS, Kathleen Sebelius.
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Partial Nephrectomy Use Low for Renal Cell Carcinoma
MONDAY, Feb. 1 (HealthDay News) -- The use of laparoscopic radical nephrectomy may have reduced the use of partial nephrectomy for renal cell carcinoma, according to research published in the February issue of The Journal of Urology.
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