An empirical study on hospital-based prevention of recurrent urinary stone disease in Germany.

PURPOSE: Urinary stone disease is a common disease with a prevalence of 4.7% in Germany. The incidence increased over the last decades, and recurrence rates are up to 50% in the first 5 years after diagnosis. Adequate preventive measures can avoid up to 46% of stone recurrences. These numbers outline the importance of prevention. Especially among high-risk stone formers, specific diagnostics and measures are required. Published data indicate the divergence between the importance of prevention and its implementation in everyday clinical practice. This is the first survey among German urological departments highlighting medical care concerning the prevention of recurrent urinary stone disease, identifying challenges and providing recommendations for improvements. METHODS: Two hundred and seventy urological hospital departments in Germany were anonymously surveyed about measurements to prevent recurrent stone disease. The questionnaire comprised 23 items dealing with diagnostics, counselling, knowledge among doctors concerning preventive measures and difficulties in preventing recurrent urinary stone disease. RESULTS: Sixty-three urological departments (23.8%) answered the survey. The majority perform stone analysis at first and repeat events. Most patients with urinary stone disease receive general advice on preventive measures during their hospitalization. General recommendations focus on fluid intake and lifestyle changes. However, specific diets are infrequently recommended by inpatient urologists. Diagnostics to identify high-risk stone formers are mostly insufficient, and guideline-compliant urine tests are uncommon. CONCLUSION: The quality of secondary prevention needs to improve considerably. The focus should be put on identifying high-risk stone formers and offering those patients specific counselling. Furthermore, general advice on dietary recommendations should be extended.

Prophylaxis of Recurrent Stone Disease in Outpatient Clinics in Germany: A Quality-of-Care Concern.

INTRODUCTION: The aim of the study was to survey current practices for preventing recurrent stone disease in an outpatient clinic setting in Germany. METHODS: Two invitations to complete an anonymous REDCap® survey were emailed to members of the occupational union of German urologists who work as outpatient urologists ("Berufsverband Deutscher Urologen e.V."). The survey included questions on diagnostic modalities and counselling to prevent stone disease. RESULTS: A total of 130 outpatient urologists completed the survey. 84.6% of urologists give general advice to first-time stone formers. Recommendations comprise increased fluid uptake in 100%, two-thirds advice on calcium and oxalate intake, and one-third on salt and protein intake. 64.6% perform a metabolic evaluation for high-risk stone formers. However, patients with risk factors other than repeat stone disease are often overlooked. Urologists agreed that a lack of time (73.1%) and reimbursement (64.6%), as well as insufficient patient compliance (60.8%), pose significant challenges. The majority of urologists agreed that training is required. CONCLUSION: General recommendations for stone formers are usually provided, but nutritional advice tends to be incomplete. Our results raise quality-of-care concerns: Metabolic evaluation of stone formers at high risk of recurrence is uncommon. Structural changes are required due to time constraints, and poor remuneration must be addressed to improve patient care.

Psychosocial distress after radical prostatectomy, radical cystectomy, or (partial) nephrectomy - a comprehensive analysis of 4,290 German cancer patients during the COVID-19 pandemic.

AIM: To evaluate and identify predictors of psychosocial distress (PD) in patients after surgical treatment for prostate cancer (PC), bladder cancer (BC), or kidney cancer (KC) during the COVID-19 pandemic in a large, multi-institutional cohort. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Patients undergoing inpatient rehabilitation (IR) after radical prostatectomy (RP), radical cystectomy (RC), or (partial) nephrectomy in one IR center in 2021 were included. PD was evaluated by the Questionnaire on Stress in Cancer Patients (QSC-R23) at the beginning (T1) and the end (T2) of IR. Regression analyses were performed to identify disease-specific predictors for high PD. RESULTS: A total of 4,290 patients (3,413 after RP, 563 after RC, 314 after (partial) nephrectomy) were included in this study. Median PD decreased significantly during IR across all tumor entities (each p < 0.001). The number of PC and BC patients suffering from high PD decreased significantly (each p < 0.001), but not in KC patients (p = 0.310). Younger age independently predicts high PD in all three malignancies, while additionally positive surgical margins (p = 0.016), ileal conduit (IC; p < 0.001), and nephrectomy (p = 0.032) independently predict high PD in PC, BC, and KC patients, respectively. During the Covid-19 pandemic the demand for individual psycho-oncologic counseling increased significantly in PC (p = 0.03) and KC (p = 0.001) patients. CONCLUSION: Younger age independently predicts high PD in the three main urological malignancies. Positive surgical margins in PCa, IC in BCa, and nephrectomy in KC are disease-specific independent predictors for high PD in the early period after surgical treatment. IMPLICATIONS FOR CANCER SURVIVORS: Disease-specific predictors for high PD may help clinicians identify patients at risk and may guide timely referrals to psycho-oncologic counseling in the early period after uro-oncologic surgery.