Here are what the editors at HealthDay consider to be the most important developments in Urology for January 2013. 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.
Long-Term Outcomes Similar With Prostatectomy, Radiation
WEDNESDAY, Jan. 30 (HealthDay News) -- At 15 years after diagnosis, disease-specific functional outcomes are not significantly different for men with localized cancer undergoing prostatectomy or radiotherapy, according to a study published in the Jan. 31 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
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Physicians Commonly Report Unsafe Hospital Workloads
TUESDAY, Jan. 29 (HealthDay News) -- Physicians say they often face unsafe hospital workloads, according to a study published online Jan. 28 in JAMA Internal Medicine.
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Brain Scans Show Doctors Empathize With Patients
TUESDAY, Jan. 29 (HealthDay News) -- Physicians who empathize with a patient in pain and feel relief when the patient receives effective treatment show activity in brain regions associated with pain relief and reward, according to a study published online Jan. 29 in Molecular Psychiatry.
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Low Rate of Prostate Cancer Diagnosis After REDUCE
TUESDAY, Jan. 29 (HealthDay News) -- In a two-year, observational follow-up study of the four-year REduction by DUtasteride of prostate Cancer Events (REDUCE) clinical study, men demonstrated a low rate of new prostate cancer diagnoses, although those men who had been treated with the 5α-reductase inhibitor (5ARI) dutasteride exhibited twice as many prostate cancers compared with placebo-treated men, according to research published in the March issue of The Journal of Urology.
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FDA Approves 1st OTC Drug for Women With Overactive Bladder
FRIDAY, Jan. 25 (HealthDay News) -- The drug Oxytrol has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as the first over-the-counter treatment for women 18 and older with overactive bladder.
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ACPE Survey Finds Skepticism Relating to Online Doc Ratings
THURSDAY, Jan. 24 (HealthDay News) -- Physicians are skeptical of online ratings, and believe that few patients use them, according to a survey published by the American College of Physician Executives (ACPE).
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Physician Education Ups Communication for New Meds
THURSDAY, Jan. 24 (HealthDay News) -- A physician-targeted education session improves physician communication about newly-prescribed medications, according to a study published in the January/February issue of the Annals of Family Medicine.
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Large Teaching Hospitals Face More Readmission Penalties
WEDNESDAY, Jan. 23 (HealthDay News) -- Large hospitals, teaching hospitals, and safety-net hospitals (SNHs) are more likely than other hospitals to be penalized under the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program (HRRP), according to a research letter published in the Jan. 23/30 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
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Care Transition Initiative Decreases Rehospitalizations
WEDNESDAY, Jan. 23 (HealthDay News) -- Communities instituting quality improvement initiatives for care transitions see significant declines in the rate of 30-day rehospitalizations and hospitalizations, according to a study published in the Jan. 23/30 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
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FDA Approves Botox for Overactive Bladder
TUESDAY, Jan. 22 (HealthDay News) -- U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval of Botox (onabotulinumtoxinA) has been expanded to include adults with overactive bladder who don't respond to anticholinergics.
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Evidence Discredits Aggressive UTI Testing in Young Children
MONDAY, Jan. 21 (HealthDay News) -- Guidelines recommending aggressive testing of young children with fevers for urinary tract infections (UTIs) should be revisited given the lack of evidence and long-term justification, according to research published online Jan. 11 in the Annals of Emergency Medicine.
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Docs' Use of Informed Decision-Making for PSA Testing Varies
MONDAY, Jan. 21 (HealthDay News) -- Physicians' practice styles related to informed decision-making for prostate-specific antigen (PSA) screening are linked to their personal beliefs about screening, according to a study published in the January/February issue of the Annals of Family Medicine.
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Efforts Failed to Up Primary Care, Rural Resident Training
FRIDAY, Jan. 18 (HealthDay News) -- The 2005 redistribution of graduate medical education (GME) funds did little to train more residents in primary care and in rural areas, according to a study published in the January issue of Health Affairs.
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Differences in Care for E-Visits, Office Visits for Sinusitis, UTI
THURSDAY, Jan. 17 (HealthDay News) -- For patients with sinusitis or urinary tract infection (UTI), follow-up is similar following office visits or e-visits, but antibiotics are more likely to be prescribed and preventive care is less likely with e-visits, according to a research letter published in the Jan. 14 issue of JAMA Internal Medicine.
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Older Individuals Have Atypical Stone Presentation
WEDNESDAY, Jan. 16 (HealthDay News) -- Older individuals are more likely to have atypical presentation with urolithiasis, according to a study published in the January issue of The Journal of Urology.
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Even Brief Interruptions Dramatically Increase Errors
WEDNESDAY, Jan. 16 (HealthDay News) -- Even momentary interruptions of two to four seconds can significantly affect a person's ability to accurately complete a task requiring considerable thought, according to research published online Jan. 7 in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General.
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Family Docs Are Early Adopters of Electronic Health Records
WEDNESDAY, Jan. 16 (HealthDay News) -- Family practice physicians are adopting electronic health record (EHR) systems at a fast pace, with 68 percent using an EHR system by 2011, and 80 percent expected to be users by 2013, according to research published in the January/February issue of the Annals of Family Medicine.
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Certain Online Behaviors of Docs Warrant Investigation
MONDAY, Jan. 14 (HealthDay News) -- There is high consensus among state medical boards regarding the likelihood of probable investigations for certain online behaviors, according to a study published in the Jan. 15 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine.
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Top Five Issues for Docs and Patients Identified for 2013
MONDAY, Jan. 14 (HealthDay News) -- The top five issues that will impact physicians and patients in 2013 have been identified, according to a report published Dec. 10 by The Physicians Foundation.
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Smoking Plus Biomarker Panel IDs Bladder Cancer Prognosis
MONDAY, Jan. 14 (HealthDay News) -- Smoking intensity and a panel of nine cancer markers can be used to predict prognosis for patients with primary bladder tumors, according to research published online Jan. 14 in Cancer.
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New Hematuria Risk Index IDs Patients at Low Cancer Risk
MONDAY, Jan. 14 (HealthDay News) -- A Hematuria Risk Index could identify cancer risk among patients with asymptomatic microscopic hematuria, according to a study published online Jan. 11 in the Mayo Clinic Proceedings.
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National U.S. Health Care Spending Relatively Stable
FRIDAY, Jan. 11 (HealthDay News) -- The growth in national U.S. health care spending was relatively stable in 2011, but growth in personal health care spending accelerated, according to a study published in the January issue of Health Affairs.
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Hospital Stays Shorter for Prostatectomy, Cystectomy
THURSDAY, Jan. 10 (HealthDay News) -- There were reductions in hospital stays for patients undergoing prostatectomy and cystectomy in 2004 to 2005, compared to those undergoing the procedures in 1992 to 1993, according to research published in the January issue of The Journal of Urology.
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SPIRIT 2013 Clinical Trial Protocol Guidelines Issued
THURSDAY, Jan. 10 (HealthDay News) -- A panel of experts, including trial investigators, trial coordinators, and representatives from ethics and regulatory agencies, has developed the Standard Protocol Items: Recommendations for Interventional Trials (SPIRIT) 2013 guidelines for the minimum content of a clinical trial, according to a statement published online Jan. 8 in the Annals of Internal Medicine.
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Reduced Penile Size Linked to Prostate Cancer Treatment
TUESDAY, Jan. 8 (HealthDay News) -- Compared with radiotherapy alone, men with recurrent prostate cancer are more likely to have complaints about reduced penile size after treatment with radiotherapy plus androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) or radical prostatectomy (RP), according to research published in the January issue of Urology.
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Health Care Use Dropped Among All During Recession
TUESDAY, Jan. 8 (HealthDay News) -- Health care use declined significantly among all races and ethnicities during the recession from 2007 to 2009, with the only ethnic disparity being fewer physician visits by Hispanics compared with whites, according to a study published online Jan. 7 in JAMA Internal Medicine.
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Shared Savings May Promote Care Coordination Entity Use
MONDAY, Jan. 7 (HealthDay News) -- Use of shared savings could encourage individuals who are dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid to enroll in state-designed care coordination entities (CCEs), according to a perspective piece published online Jan. 2 in the New England Journal of Medicine.
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Prevalence of Interstitial Cystitis/Chronic Prostatitis ID'd
MONDAY, Jan. 7 (HealthDay News) -- The symptoms of interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome (IC/BPS) and chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CP/CPPS) are widespread among men in the United States, according to research published in the January issue of The Journal of Urology.
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Most Unaware of Out-of-Pocket Costs for Prostate Cancer Tx
FRIDAY, Jan. 4 (HealthDay News) -- Most patients with localized prostate cancer know little about the out-of-pocket expenses (OOPE) of the different treatments, and would not have chosen a different treatment even if they had known the actual OOPE of their treatment, according to a study published in the December issue of Urology.
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Association Between Health Care Cost, Quality Inconsistent
THURSDAY, Jan. 3 (HealthDay News) -- The direction of the association between health care cost and quality is unclear, with inconsistent evidence indicating positive, negative, mixed, and indeterminate associations, according to a review published in the Jan. 1 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine.
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Urodynamic Studies Affect Diagnoses, but Not Treatment
THURSDAY, Jan. 3 (HealthDay News) -- Although preoperative urodynamic studies frequently change clinical diagnoses, they rarely lead to changes in the surgical or global treatment plans for women with stress urinary incontinence (UI), according to research published in the January issue of The Journal of Urology.
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House Joins Senate to Avert Medicare Cuts
WEDNESDAY, Jan. 2 (HealthDay News) -- The House of Representatives settled on an 11th-hour agreement late Tuesday night that has averted the widespread tax increases and spending cuts that would have gone into effect January 1. This agreement occurred 21 hours after the U.S. Senate did its part to steer the country clear of the "fiscal cliff."
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