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Medicare has mandated a change from the current provider identification system to a new National Provider Identifier (NPI). The change will occur on May 23, 2007. This change is not an option, but is mandated for Medicare and, ultimately, all private payers that accept electronic claims.

Postoperative hemorrhage can and will occur in a minority of patients, despite the most careful of laparoscopic procedures.

San Francisco-How uropathogenic Escherichia coli spreads within families is a continuing question for both practicing urologists and researchers. It has long been known that sexual contact may spread specific strains. A new study examining members of a single family confirms that casual contact between family members and even pets can also contribute to the transmission of E. coli, leading to cystitis and possibly other urologic infections.

San Francisco-Farm animals often are implicated as the source of drug-resistant Escherichia coli and other pathogens in humans. In some cases, human outbreaks have been traced back to infected farm animals, but a recent study of such outbreaks in Iowa exonerates food herds as the source of resistant E. coli that are responsible for urinary tract infections.

San Francisco-A study at one of the largest health systems in Vancouver, British Columbia, has found that long-term care facilities have become a significant reservoir for resistance to fluoroquinolone antibiotics. The rise of resistance appears to be the result of the increased use of quinolones for empiric treatment of urinary tract infections and pneumonia in residents of these facilities.

San Francisco-One of the most frustrating problems for women with urinary tract infections is to complete apparently successful antibiotic treatment, only to have the infection reoccur.

San Francisco-A recent study from Sweden has confirmed what many clinicians have suspected: couples routinely share bacterial microflora. In clinical terms, if one partner is treated for a urinary tract infection or similar complaint, the other partner is likely to serve as a reservoir to re-infect the treated person.

Atlanta-Tissue engineering research has grown by leaps and bounds in the past decade and a half, yielding findings that may someday have a profound impact on the field of pediatric urology. At the 2006 American Academy of Pediatrics Section on Urology annual meeting here, several groups presented cutting-edge data on novel systems for organ generation, including research demonstrating the feasibility of generating a functioning bladder from stem cells.

Atlanta-The impact of environmental toxins on male sexual development has become a topic of keen interest among pediatric urologists, who have released a growing body of data suggesting environmental links to hypospadias, cryptorchidism, and other urinary tract anomalies and diseases. At the 2006 American Academy of Pediatrics Section on Urology annual meeting, several groups presented data on the effect of in utero exposure to endocrine disrupters on the developing fetus.

Atlanta-A study funded by the National Institutes of Health and a new registry promise to provide needed information on the incidence, prevalence, and consequences of two important urologic conditions in children: vesicoureteral reflux and prenatal hydronephrosis. Both the study and the registry were highlighted at the American Academy of Pediatrics Section on Urology annual meeting here.

Atlanta-For a number of urologic conditions in adult patients, pure laparoscopic and robot-assisted laparoscopic procedures have taken urology by storm. Pediatric urology has been somewhat slower to adopt laparoscopic approaches, but many of the same questions arise in pediatric circles when arguing the relative merits and shortcomings of current laparoscopic and open surgical options: How do postoperative pain scores, operative times, and return to activities compare? What is the learning curve for laparoscopy, and does robotic assistance shorten it? In which patients, and for which indications, is one approach preferred over another?

Atlanta-Shifting patient and physician demographics, a rapidly changing medical marketplace, and evolving national health policies will create unique challenges for pediatric urology in the next decade, according to William J. Cromie, MD, MBA, a pediatric urologist who is CEO of Capital District Physicians' Health Plan, Inc.

New York-Satraplatin, an oral platinum analog in late-stage development as second-line chemotherapy for hormone-refractory prostate cancer, has shown encouraging results in phase III trials, said Oliver Sartor, MD, associate professor of medicine at the Lank Center for Genitourinary Oncology at Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Boston. Dr. Sartor, who reviewed phase III results of the drug at the recent Chemotherapy Foundation Symposium here, said satraplatin is one of the most promising new agents under study for hormone-refractory disease.

New York-The administration of sipuleucel-T (Provenge), an investigational immunotherapy designed to stimulate a patient's immune response, followed by docetaxel chemotherapy prolonged survival in men with asymptomatic androgen-independent prostate cancer (AIPC), according to a recently released study. Median survival in these men was 14 months longer than would have been predicted by a prostate cancer survival nomogram, said Daniel Petrylak, MD, associate professor of medicine and director of genitourinary oncology at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center in New York.

Baltimore-PSA velocity measured 10 to 15 years prior to prostate cancer diagnosis is a significant predictor of cancer-specific survival 2 to 3 decades later, according to the results of a study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute (2006; 98:1521-7).

The treatment paradigm for vesicoureteral reflux has undergone a significant shift in recent years. Endoscopic surgery has provided an effective, minimally invasive option that is gradually eliminating the need for prolonged antibiotic use, monitoring with voiding cystourethrograms (VCUGs), and open surgery in children with most grades and forms of VUR.

New York-Several promising agents in early stages of development may find a role in the treatment of prostate cancer, and two ongoing cooperative group trials will provide more definitive evidence about how best to use docetaxel (Taxotere) in the treatment of hormone-refractory prostate cancer (HRPC). At the Mount Sinai School of Medicine Chemotherapy Foundation Symposium here, the developments were reviewed by Noah M. Hahn, MD, assistant professor of medicine at the Indiana University Cancer Center in Indianapolis.

Atlanta-Magnetic resonance imaging has exciting new applications in diagnosing and evaluating of pediatric urologic conditions, according to several studies presented here at the 2006 American Academy of Pediatrics Section on Urology annual meeting.

Rochester, MN-Men who take non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) daily have a decreased risk for developing BPH and associated lower urinary tract symptoms, according to analyses of data collected in a longitudinal population-based cohort study of aging men.

Atlanta-Endoscopic treatment should be a front-line therapy for the management of grade V vesicoureteral reflux, according to the authors of a retrospective study from the National Children's Hospital in Dublin, Ireland.

Herbal supplements and other complementary therapies are surrounded by clinical and ethical issues, some involving urologists.

Doris Stoll, PhD, executive director of the residency review committees for urology and three other surgical specialties at the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education, has retired after 17 years of service to the Council. Separately, David C. Leach, MD, executive director of the ACGME, has announced that he will retire in September 2007.

Urologist Peter Albertsen, MD, has been named medical director of the UConn Medical Group, a 350-member multi-specialty physician practice, and James Thornton has been named director of the 224-bed John Dempsey Hospital, creating a new leadership team for the health center’s clinical enterprise.

Ebek, Inc., is conducting a voluntary nationwide recall of its supplement product sold under the name Liviro3. Lab analysis of Liviro3 samples conducted by the FDA found the product contains the phosphodiesterase type-5 inhibitor tadalafil, making Liviro3 an unapproved drug.

The Society of Urologic Nurses and Associates (SUNA) has formed the SUNA Foundation in a move to further its commitment to excellence in urologic clinical practice and research.

Ikonisys Inc. has received FDA approval to market the oncoFISH bladder diagnostic application in the United States. In conjunction with the company’s proprietary Ikoniscope robotic digital microscopy platform, oncoFISH bladder enables automated testing of cells found in urine specimens to aid in the detection of bladder cancer.

A course of the investigational drug silodosin, 8 mg once daily for 12 weeks, was superior to placebo for the relief of both obstructive and irritative symptoms in men with BPH, two phase III studies showed. Secondary endpoints included improvement in maximum urine flow.

Researchers working with breast cancer stem cells have found 186 genes that together can predict the risk of recurrence in breast cancer patients.