Place of urolithiasis in the spectrum of urological pathologies, practices and use of endourological procedures in the management of calculi of the upper urinary tract: results of a survey of referral centres in Africa.

Our aim was to determine the current trend of endourology in the management of upper urinary tract calculi in Africa reference centres. We conducted an online multiple-choice questionnaire survey involving 46 centres from 27 countries using a structured well-designed Google Form (®) questionnaire. The questionnaires were distributed to the head of service through their emails. The questions collected demographic data about the centre, the epidemiology of urolithiasis, diagnostic means and management of upper urolithiasis, especially access to endourology procedures and their practices. Descriptive analyses were performed. The participation rate was 77.9%. Urinary lithiasis was one of the three main pathologies encountered in 42/46 centres. 33 centres had easy access to CT scanners and 34 had operating theatres equipped with endo-urological surgery equipment. Of these 34 centres, 30 perform endourology for the management of upper urinary tract stones. Rigid ureteroscopy is the main technique used by the centres. It is the only endourology technique used for stone management by 12 centres (40%). 7/30 (23.3%) have the option of performing rigid ureteroscopy, flexible ureteroscopy and percutaneous nephrolithotomy. The frequency of procedures varies widely, with 43.3% rarely performing endourological surgery. Seventeen centres have their operating theatre equipped with a fluoroscope and 6/42 centres have extracorporeal lithotripsy. Open surgery is still used in 29/42 centres (69.1%). Laparoscopy is available in 50% of centres, but none reported performing laparoscopic lithotomy. In Africa, urinary lithiasis plays an important role in the activities of referral centres. Modern management techniques are used to varying degrees (not all centres have them) and with very variable frequency. Open surgery is still widely performed as a management. Rigid ureteroscopy is the main endourological technique. It is essential to develop the practice of modern urology in Africa, mainly endourology.

Accuracy of a "Single Question Nocturia Score" compared to the "International Prostate Symptoms Score" in the evaluation of lower urinary tract symptoms in benign prostatic hyperplasia: A study performed at Ndola Teaching Hospital, Ndola, Zambia.

INTRODUCTION: The International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS) is a useful tool approved by the World Health Organisation and the American Urological Association to measure the severity of lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS). Although commonly used in urological practice, the IPSS has faced many challenges in terms of its usage in developing countries. In our setting, most patients presenting with this condition are elderly patients with a low literacy level. Given this background, the IPSS could be time consuming and difficult to administer to such patients and it may lead to additional costs to the services. OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study was to compare the accuracy of a Single Question Nocturia Score (SQNS) with the IPSS in evaluation of lower urinary tracts symptoms in men with Benign prostatic hyperplasia(BPH). METHODS: The study was designed as a cross-sectional study using researcher-administered IPSS and SQNS questionnaires. The sensitivity, specificity, and correlation coefficient were used to compare the results obtained. Sensitivity was defined as the ability of the SQNS to detect severe-to-moderate symptoms, whereas specificity was defined as the ability of the SQNS to detect mild-to-no symptoms. RESULTS: We recruited 162 patients with an age range between 50 and 88 years. The mean age was 66.7 (standard deviation ± 8.97 years). The IPSS showed that 85 patients (52%) presented with mild symptoms, and 77 patients (48%) presented with severe-to-moderate symptoms. In contrast, the SQNS showed that 88 patients (54.3%) presented with mild symptoms and 74 patients (46.7%) presented with severe-to-moderate symptoms. The sensitivity of the SQNS was 91%, and the specificity was 87%. The correlation coefficient of the SQNS to IPSS using Pearson correlation coefficient, was 0.74. This study showed that in our setting, the SQNS may be used as an alternative to the IPSS in assessing the severity of LUTS in men with BPH especially in a busy clinic.

Preputial mucosal graft for urethral repair.

Urethral stricture disease is the commonest cause of morbidity in urology practice in sub-Saharan Africa. In contrast, prostate disease is commonly cited as the leading cause of urological disease in most urology practices in developed countries. In Africa, the aetiology of urethral stricture disease is compounded by a high prevalence of sexually transmitted infections (STIs), increasing levels of urethral trauma and over-stretched urological services. Thus, patients with prostate disease are treated with long-stay urethral catheters for periods often up to two years. This increases the risk of urethral stricture. The predominant aetiological factor is sexually transmitted infection due to gonococcus or chlamydia. This frequently leads to long severe strictures with spongiofibrosis, especially in the anterior urethra where the periurethral glands are located. These strictures respond poorly to urethral dilatation, optical urethrotomy or primary anastomosis. The majority of strictures in Africa are best treated by open substitution urethroplasty. The gold standard has been the use of buccal mucosa graft for this substitution procedure. This procedure poses a great challenge in most centres with limited resources. In these settings, we have found that the use of a dorsal onlay free preputial graft is easy to perform and gives good results.

A Cross Sectional Study of the Prevalence of Preputial and Penile Scrotal Abnormalities among Clients Undergoing Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision in Soweto, South Africa.

OBJECTIVE: Medical device use is currently approved for males without preputial or major penile scrotal abnormalities for voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC). We determined the prevalence of preputial abnormalities at a busy VMMC centre in Soweto, South Africa. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional record review at a high-volume VMMC centre in South Africa. We collated pre-circumcision demographic and genital examination findings from clients 8 years and older who had undergone VMMC from 01 May 2013 to 30 April 2014. Logistic regression was used to determine factors associated with preputial abnormalities. FINDINGS: During the review period, 6861 circumcisions were conducted and 37.1% (n = 2543) were 8-13 year olds. Median age was 15 years (IQR: 12-23 years). Fifteen percent (n = 1030) had preputial abnormalities or major penile scrotal abnormalities. Age-specific prevalence of preputial or major genital abnormalities were 27.3%, 10.6% and 6.0% in 8-13, 14-18 and > 18 year olds respectively. The odds of preputial or major penile scrotal abnormality were higher in younger clients aged 8-13 years (OR = 5.9; 95% CI = 4.8-7.1) and 14-18 years (OR = 1.9; 95% CI = 1.5-2.4) compared to older clients above18 years and in those testing for HIV outside our clinic network (OR = 1.9; 95% CI = 1.4-2.7). CONCLUSION: The high prevalence of preputial and penile scrotal abnormalities observed suggests a need for VMMC sites to provide for both open surgical and devices methods in the provision of VMMC services. This is especially so among young male subjects presenting themselves for VMMC services at the various sites being developed in sub Saharan African countries.

Randomized controlled trial of the shang ring versus conventional surgical techniques for adult male circumcision: safety and acceptability.

OBJECTIVE: To compare clinical profiles of Shang Ring versus conventional circumcisions. DESIGN: Parallel group open-label randomized controlled trial with one-to-one allocations in 2 sites. METHODS: We enrolled HIV-negative men aged 18-54 years in Homa Bay, Kenya, and Lusaka, Zambia and followed them at 2, 7, 14, 21, 28, 42, and 60 days after Shang Ring versus conventional circumcision. We compared the duration of surgery, postoperative pain using a visual analog scale, adverse events rates, time to complete wound healing by clinical assessment, participant acceptability, and provider preferences between circumcision groups. RESULTS: We randomized 200 men to each group; 197 and 201 contributed to the Shang Ring and conventional surgery analyses, respectively. Adverse event rates were similar between groups. Pain scores at most time points were similar, however, the Shang Ring group reported higher scores for worst pain during erections (3.5 ± 1.9 vs. 2.3 ± 1.7; P < 0.001). Significantly more men were satisfied with the cosmetic appearance following Shang Ring male circumcision (MC), 95.7% versus 85.9% (P = 0.02) in Kenya, and 96.8% versus 71.3% (P < 0.01) in Zambia. Although median time to complete wound healing was 43 days in both groups, conventional circumcisions healed on average 5.2 days sooner (P < 0.001). Shang Ring procedures took one-third the time of conventional MC, 7 versus 20 minutes. All circumcision providers preferred the Shang Ring. CONCLUSIONS: Safety profiles of the 2 techniques were similar, all MC providers preferred the Shang Ring technique, and study participants preferred the Shang Ring's cosmetic results. The Shang Ring should be considered for adult MC as programs scale-up.

A pilot study to compare HIV status and cervical and penile pathology among couples attending the urology unit at the University Teaching Hospital Lusaka, Zambia.

BACKGROUND: Cancer of the cervix is the most common malignancy in women of childbearing age in Zambia. It is known to be associated with HIV infection and oncogenic strains of HPV. However, there are few studies of penile lesions as a predictor of malignant and premalignant cervical lesions in female partners. OBJECTIVES: The aim of the study was to determine the association between men with penile lesions and premalignant cervical lesions in their female partners. DESIGN: Thirty-seven couples were screened for penile and cervical lesions to determine the association between the two. The male partners had a biopsy and the female partners had a Pap smear. RESULTS: Among 37 female partners, 29 (78.3%) had some type of cervical lesion. Two (5.4%) were undetermined and 6 (16.3%) of the females had normal Pap smears. Among the spouses with diseased cervices 22 (59.4%) were premalignant and 5 (13.5%) were malignant. The combined prevalence of malignant or premalignant cervical lesions among female partners was 73.0%. The HIV prevalence in the cohort was 88.9% (among those who agreed to be tested). The prevalence of premalignant or malignant cervical lesions was 75% in HIV positive and HIV negative females, and 66.7% in those who refused HIV testing. CONCLUSION: This small pilot study suggests a high prevalence of premalignant or malignant lesions in females whose partners have penile lesions. In this cohort, HIV infection was not associated with a higher risk of neoplastic cervical lesions.

Fine needle aspiration cytology in the investigation of breast lumps at the University Teaching Hospital in Lusaka, Zambia.

The study was undertaken to determine the value of fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) in the investigation of breast lumps at the University Teaching Hospital (UTH) in Lusaka, Zambia. This technique, which has been shown to be cheap, simple and accurate has not been in common use at this institution. FNAC and open biopsy (OB) were performed on 56 patients who presented with a breast lump and the results compared, in order to determine the accuracy of FNAC. FNAC was found to have a sensitivity of 72% and specificity of 100%. This level of accuracy compares favourably with the quality assurance criteria set for breast FNAC by the Royal College of Pathologists in the British National Health Service (NHS).