Preoperative C-reactive protein to albumin ratio as a novel prognostic biomarker for the oncological outcomes of radical nephroureterectomy.

PURPOSE: This study aimed to evaluate the prognostic impact of the preoperative C-reactive protein to albumin ratio (CAR) on progression-free survival (PFS) and cancer-specific survival (CSS) in patients with upper urinary tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC) undergoing radical nephroureterectomy (RNU). METHODS: A retrospective analysis was conducted using data from a single-center nephroureterectomy registry between January 2011 and December 2017. Participants were categorized into high and low CAR groups based on the optimal CAR cut-off value determined using the Youden index. The primary endpoint was PFS, the time from RNU to metastasis or disease recurrence. The secondary endpoint was CSS, the time from RNU to UTUC-related death. Median PFS and CSS were compared between the high and low CAR groups using Kaplan-Meier analysis and log-rank test. Multivariable Cox proportional hazard regression analysis was performed to assess the prognostic significance of CAR, adjusting for known prognostic factors. RESULTS: We included 491 patients with UTUC in the analysis. The optimal CAR cut-off value was determined to be 0.036, which resulted in classifying 49.3% (242/491) of patients into the high CAR group. The high CAR group had older patients (69.8 vs. 67.4, p-value = 0.01), advanced T and N stages (p-value<0.001), high-grade tumor (p-value = 0.03), and a higher incidence of preoperative hydronephrosis (p-value < 0.01) than the low CAR group. The high CAR group demonstrated significantly inferior median PFS (78.3 vs. 100.3 months, p-value < 0.01) and CSS (73.2 vs. 96.1 months, p-value < 0.01) than the low CAR group. Moreover, high CAR independently increased the risk of disease progression (hazard ratio [HR]: 1.80, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.23-2.64, p < 0.01) and UTUC-related mortality (HR: 1.79, 95% CI: 1.15, p < 0.01). CONCLUSION: Pre-operative CAR is independently associated with poor PFS and CSS in patients with UTUC undergoing RNU. Moreover, CAR may be an independent UTUC prognostic factor, offering a cost-effective and minimally invasive marker. However, further validation through large-scale, multi-center studies is necessary to confirm these findings and determine the optimal CAR cut-off value.

The usefulness and ergonomics of a new robotic system for flexible ureteroscopy and laser lithotripsy for treating renal stones.

PURPOSE: To investigate the usefulness and ergonomics of a newly developed robotic system for flexible ureteroscopy (easyUretero). MATERIALS AND METHODS: During in vitro testing, six participants performed renal stone removal four times in an artificial kidney-ureter-bladder model. Each participant manipulated a single-use digital flexible ureteroscope (LithoVue) with their hands and the robotic system, sequentially. We compared the task completion times of each participant. The ergonomics of and operational satisfaction with each procedure were assessed by questionnaires. In vivo tests evaluated the operability and safety of the robotic system in two live female pigs. We checked that all the steps of flexible lithotomy for renal stones could be completed individually. RESULTS: The task completion time with the robotic system during in vitro testing was significantly longer than with manual ureteroscopy regardless of the operator's competence level (expert professors: 282.6±92.4 seconds vs. 73.6±43.3 seconds, p<0.001; fellows: 247.5±57.7 seconds vs. 95.8±43.7 seconds, p<0.001; residents: 281.3±111.0 seconds vs. 188.6±138.6 seconds, p<0.001). The residents took more time to remove the upper and mid caliceal stones with the robotic system. The ergonomic evaluation was better for the robotic system, but operational satisfaction was lower, and there was no statistical difference among the groups. In vivo tests showed that all the steps of robotic flexible ureteroscopy could be completed without difficulty. No safety issues were encountered during the procedure. CONCLUSIONS: The robotic system (easyUretero) was ergonomic and safe for flexible ureteroscopy and laser lithotripsy for renal stones.

Effects of different types of hysterectomies on postoperative urodynamics and lower urinary tract symptoms.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the effects of different hysterectomies-simple hysterectomy (SH) and radical hysterectomy (RH) with or without radiation therapy (RT) on urodynamics and lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Among patients who underwent urodynamic study between 2009 and 2019, those with RH history due to cervical cancer and SH for uterine myoma were included. Clinical parameters were compared after adjusting clinically significant baseline variables with multivariate regression. RESULTS: A total of 289 patients (RH-only, n=57; RH+RT, n=72; SH, n=160) were included. Age at hysterectomy, gap between urodynamic study and hysterectomy, body mass index, hypertension and vaginal delivery history were adjusted. Stress urinary incontinence was more likely to occur in SH group (p<0.001), while urgency urinary incontinence was more prevalent in patients with history of RH (odds ratio [OR] 6.4, 95% confidence interval 2.171-18.855; p=0.001). There was no difference in OR of mixed urinary incontinence. Higher proportion of RH patients complained of recurrent urinary tract infection and voiding symptoms requiring intermittent catheterization. On urodynamic study, RH groups had lower maximal flow rate, larger post-void residual, decreased bladder sensation and impaired detrusor contractility (all p<0.001) than SH group. Adjuvant RT resulted in decreased compliance and decrease in volume of the first sense to void. CONCLUSIONS: Predominant LUTS differed among patients after different types of hysterectomy. RH resulted in inefficient bladder emptying, leading to recurrent urinary tract infection and voiding symptoms requiring intermittent catheterization. Adjuvant RT exacerbated bladder compliance and increased bladder sensation.

Ab Initio Calculations of Low-Energy Nuclear Scattering Using Confining Potential Traps.

A recently modified method to enable low-energy nuclear scattering results to be extracted from the discrete energy levels of the target-projectile clusters confined by harmonic potential traps is tested. We report encouraging results for neutron-α and neutron-^{24}O elastic scattering from analyzing the trapped levels computed using two different ab initio nuclear structure methods. The n-α results have also been checked against a direct ab initio reaction calculation. The n-^{24}O results demonstrate the approach's applicability for a large range of systems provided their spectra in traps can be computed by ab initio methods. A key ingredient is a rigorous understanding of the errors in the calculated energy levels caused by inevitable Hilbert-space truncations in the ab initio methods.