Clinical questions in the Japanese Urological Association's 2024 clinical practice guidelines for urethral strictures.

Transurethral procedures such as direct vision internal urethrotomy and urethral dilation have been the traditional treatments for urethral strictures. However, transurethral procedures are associated with high recurrence rates, resulting in many uncured cases and prompting major international urological societies to recommend urethroplasty as the standard treatment owing to its high success rate. In contrast, many Japanese general urologists have little doubts about treating urethral strictures with transurethral treatment. Therefore, urethral stricture treatments in Japan are not in line with those used in other countries. To address this, the Trauma, Emergency Medicine, and Reconstruction Subcommittee of the Japanese Urological Association has developed guidelines to offer standardized treatment protocols for urethral stricture, based on international evidence and tailored to Japan's medical landscape. These guidelines target patients with a clinically suspected urethral stricture and are intended for urologists and general practitioners involved in its diagnosis and treatment. Following the Minds Clinical Practice Guideline Development Manual 2020, the committee identified eight critical clinical issues and formulated eight clinical questions using the "patient, intervention, comparison, and outcome" format. A comprehensive literature search was conducted. For six clinical questions addressed by the existing guidelines or systematic reviews, the level of evidence was determined by qualitative systematic reviews. Quantitative systematic reviews and meta-analyses were performed for the two unique clinical questions. The recommendation grades were determined using the Delphi method and consensus by the committee. These guidelines will be useful to clinicians in daily practice, especially those involved in the care of urethral strictures.

Influence of tract location on the outcomes of endoscopic combined intrarenal surgery: A retrospective analysis of 1000 cases.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to investigate the influence of tract location on surgical outcomes in endoscopic combined intrarenal surgery (ECIRS), considering the location of residual stones. METHODS: From January 2015 to December 2021, 1417 consecutive patients underwent ECIRS in three hospitals. After excluding patients with preoperative percutaneous nephrostomy, intended multi-stage procedures, those with a tract in the renal pelvis, and those with multiple tracts, 1000 patients were retrospectively analysed by comparing three groups based on tract location: group 1 (upper calyx), group 2 (middle calyx), and group 3 (lower calyx). A multivariate logistic regression model was implemented to assess whether the tract location independently affected the stone-free status. RESULTS: Patient characteristics were significantly different among the groups in terms of age, stone laterality, presence of calyceal stones, and hydronephrosis. There were no differences in stone-free rate (SFR) among the three groups. Multivariate analysis indicated that the tract location (group 1 or 2 compared with group 3) did not significantly affect the stone-free status (odds ratio = 1.4, 0.9-1.9, p = 0.066). Surgical duration significantly varied among the groups, with the shortest time observed in group 1. Organ injury was observed exclusively in group 1 (1.13%). Residual fragments were predominantly found in the lower calyx, with the calyx associated with the tract being the second most common location. CONCLUSIONS: Tract location does not significantly affect SFR. To improve the SFR, observation of the lower calyx and tract placement is important.

Models to predict the surgical outcome of mini-ECIRS (endoscopic combined intrarenal surgery) for renal and/or ureteral stones.

To establish a safer and more efficient treatment strategy with mini-endoscopic combined intrarenal surgery (ECIRS), the present study aimed to develop models to predict the outcomes of mini-ECIRS in patients with renal and/or ureteral stones. We retrospectively analysed consecutive patients with renal and/or ureteral stones who underwent mini-ECIRS at three Japanese tertiary institutions. Final treatment outcome was evaluated by CT imaging at 1 month postoperatively and stone free (SF) was defined as completely no residual stone or residual stone fragments ≤ 2 mm. Three prognostic models (multiple logistic regression, classification tree analysis, and machine learning-based random forest) were developed to predict surgical outcomes using preoperative clinical factors. Clinical data from 1432 ECIRS were pooled from a database registered at three institutions, and 996 single sessions of mini-ECIRS were analysed in this study. The overall SF rate was 62.3%. The multiple logistic regression model consisted of stone burden (P < 0.001), number of involved calyces (P < 0.001), nephrostomy prior to mini-ECIRS (P = 0.091), and ECOG-PS (P = 0.110), wherein the area under the curve (AUC) was 70.7%. The classification tree analysis consisted of the number of involved calyces with an AUC of 61.7%. The random forest model showed that the top predictive variable was the number of calyces involved, with an AUC of 91.9%. Internal validation revealed that the AUCs for the multiple logistic regression model, classification tree analysis and random forest models were 70.4, 69.6 and 85.9%, respectively. The number of involved calyces, and a smaller stone burden implied a SF outcome. The machine learning-based model showed remarkably high accuracy and may be a promising tool for physicians and patients to obtain proper consent, avoid inefficient surgery, and decide preoperatively on the most efficient treatment strategies, including staged mini-ECIRS.