Noted Irish playwright Oscar Wilde once mused, "Success is a science; if you have the conditions, you get the result." Thanks to a foundation strengthened by direct and indirect participation in advocacy campaigns across the country, the urologic community secured positive policy outcomes in the first several months of 2012.
How would you like to have to go back for 10 years and figure out if the feds have overpaid you on a Medicare or Medicaid claim and then be required to pay up within 60 days or face monetary penalties and maybe get kicked out of federal health care programs? That's exactly what will happen unless a regulation proposed by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is significantly revised.
The Urologic Diseases in America research initiative, last published in 2007, has been revised and updated for 2012 to include new, detailed information on the utilization of resources and the costs associated with urologic diseases among men, women, and children.
IRIS International, Inc. (Chatsworth, CA) has launched its prostate cancer test, NADiA ProsVue.
Two studies have identified military service as a risk factor for certain urologic disorders in presentations made at the AUA annual meeting in Atlanta.
Treatment of early-stage prostate cancer can also result in improved quality of life for a subgroup of men who suffer from lower urinary tract symptoms, according to results from a multicenter study presented at the AUA annual meeting in Atlanta.
The autologous cellular immunotherapy sipuleucel-T (Provenge) appears to demonstrate an overall survival benefit in patients with advanced prostate cancer, according to two studies presented at the AUA annual meeting in Atlanta.
A collaborative research effort into the genetics of prostate cancer has uncovered a distinct subtype of the disease, one that appears to account for up to 15% of all cases.
When the initial wide incision of a microdissection testicular sperm extraction procedure reveals no sperm-containing tubules, there is a 35% chance of finding sperm with a deeper, more extensive exploration, according to a 10-year study of 900 men with nonobstructive azoospermia.
Findings from a study by UCLA urologists of all patients who underwent surgical mesh removal over a 6-year period will hopefully help surgeons who care for these patients with their management decisions and counseling efforts, researchers say.
In treating nocturia related to urgency, flexible-dose fesoterodine (Toviaz) demonstrates statistical superiority to placebo in several areas, reported researchers from State University of New York Downstate Medical School, Brooklyn.
Men who order so-called generic Viagra acquired from the Internet are more likely to be ingesting paint, gypsum, rat poison, and a host of other substances found more often in garages than pharmacies, researchers have discovered.
Repeat intradetrusor injections of onabotulinumtoxinA ("onabotA"; Botox) are associated with sustained efficacy and no new safety signals, long-term study results show.
While many characteristics and conditions are associated with nocturia, patient age is the only factor that can significantly be linked with its development, Dutch researchers report.
Practice complication rates following surgical treatment for BPH are higher than indicated by clinical trials, according to a study presented here.
The highly contentious issue of prostate cancer screening heated up during this week's AUA annual meeting when the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) announced on Monday that it would not change its grade "D" recommendation on PSA screening for prostate cancer.
Researchers teasing out the relationship between urinary tract infection and its symptoms are zeroing in on the major component of Escherichia coli's cell wall, lipopolysaccharide (LPS), as the culprit.
Folic acid may reduce the risk of recurrence of prostate cancer, according to a study from Duke University, Durham, NC.
Use of robotics added almost 40% to the average cost of a radical prostatectomy compared with radical retropubic prostatectomy (RRP), analysis of a statewide database showed.
Minimally invasive retroperitoneal lymph node dissection in cases of testicular cancer produces excellent outcomes and reduces length of stay, according to a nationwide study conducted by urologists at the University of California, San Diego. The study compared the minimally invasive procedure to the standard open procedure.
In patients with symptoms suggestive of BPH, nocturia fluctuates but does not significantly progress over the course of 1-year follow-up, according to findings from an international study.
Phosphodiesterase type-5 inhibitors are safe and effective, alone or in combination with alpha-blockers, against lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) secondary to BPH, according to a systematic review and meta-analysis.
In phase II results presented here yesterday, the investigational beta3-adrenoceptor agonist solabegron yielded statistically significant improvements in symptoms of overactive bladder compared to placebo and was safe and well tolerated, Dutch researchers reported.
In the hands of high-volume surgeons, there is no evidence to suggest that robot-assisted laparoscopic prostatectomy (RALP) results in worse oncologic outcomes than open radical prostatectomy, even for patients with high-risk cancer, according to a retrospective study of patients operated on at a large tertiary care center.
Despite its well-established advantages over radical surgery, partial nephrectomy is not as likely to be used for older, sicker, and poorer patients who are uninsured or rely on Medicare or Medicaid for their health care, researchers from Henry Ford Hospital, Detroit reported here yesterday.
A study investigating trends in ambulatory surgery for stress urinary incontinence (SUI) shows a significant, fourfold increase in the annual rate of sling procedures performed over a contemporary 9-year period.
Over time, surgery and external beam radiation therapy led to similar long-term quality of life outcomes for patients with localized prostate cancer, according to 15-year follow-up data in more than 1,600 men.
Juan A. Reyna, MD, who has served as president and CEO of Urology San Antonio for 16 years, has stepped down as the leader of the 29-physician group. He will continue to work as a urologist at the medical practice.
Microscopic hematuria demonstrated no predictive value for identification of urinary tract cancers, results of a 30-month prospective investigation showed.
Treatment of small kidney tumors by partial nephrectomy leads to better outcomes, including a significantly lower mortality risk, compared with radical surgery, data on more than 7,000 procedures showed.