Is the "Pandemic Diet" Nonlithogenic?

Introduction and Objective: The COVID-19 pandemic and worldwide quarantine resulted in major changes in individual lifestyles. In New York State, March 16, 2020, marked the end of in-restaurant dining and a reported shift to more cooking at home. We investigated the 24-hour urine of patients with known history of nephrolithiasis to see if changes during COVID-19 pandemic altered the risk of stone disease. Methods: Retrospectively, patients with history of nephrolithiasis seen for an outpatient visit from April 1, 2020, to December 31, 2020, were studied. All patients had a 24-hour urine study "pre-COVID" defined as before March 16, 2020, "during-COVID" from March 16, 2020, to December 31, 2020; if available, "post-COVID" from January 1, 2021, to October 31, 2022, was also included. Mean study values were compared using paired, two-tailed t-tests. Results: Ninety-three patients (M = 54, F = 39) with a mean age of 60 years were evaluated. Twenty-four-hour urine revealed a significant reduction in urinary sodium (uNa) levels from pre-COVID (166.15 ± 7.51 mEq/L) compared with during-COVID (149.09 ± 7.55 mEq/L) (p = 0.015) and urinary calcium (uCa) levels from pre-COVID (214.18 ± 13.05 mg) compared with during-COVID (191.48 ± 13.03 mg) (p = 0.010). Post-COVID 24-hour urine (N = 73) levels for uNa (138.55 ± 6.83 mEq/L, p = 0.0035) and uCa (185.33 ± 12.61 mg, p = 0.012) remained significantly reduced compared with pre-COVID values, but with no difference compared with during-COVID values. Upon age stratification, this significance was found only in patients younger than 65. There were no significant differences in 24-hour urine total volume, magnesium, or citrate levels. Conclusions: During the COVID-19 lockdown, dietary choices limited to home-cooked meals allowed patients to better identify their food choices. This study demonstrates that home-cooked meals improved urinary parameters minimizing lithogenic risk factors for stone formation, including hypernatriuria and hypercalciuria. That these changes persisted into the post-COVID period may indicate improved dietary practices after the lockdown ended.

Decreasing Seroma Incidence Following Abdominoplasty: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of High-Quality Evidence.

Background: Seroma formation is the most common complication of abdominoplasties. Many preventive interventions have been proposed, but none have been recognized as a definitive solution, partly due to varying levels of evidence (LOE) in the literature. Objectives: We aimed to analyze seroma prevention methods supported by high-level evidence. Methods: The PubMed database was queried through August 2023. Primary articles of interest included randomized controlled trials (RCTs), prospective comparative studies, and meta-analyses of these studies. The LOE for each article was determined according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons Rating Scale. The "seroma occurrence ratio," or ratio of seroma events in the interventional group to respective control group, was calculated to compare incidence rates between techniques. Results: Twenty articles and 9 categories of techniques were analyzed. Study designs included 10 RCTs, 2 prospective cohort studies, 7 prospective comparative studies, and 1 retrospective randomized study. The use of progressive-tension and quilting sutures had the most data supporting a statistically significant reduction in seroma (occurrence ratio 0.306, P < .001). Tissue adhesives and preservation of Scarpa's fascia were also well reinforced (0.375, P < .01 and 0.229, P < .011, respectively), while increasing the number of drains was not (P = .7576). Meta-analysis demonstrated that compared with 2 drains alone, alternative techniques were more effective at reducing seroma occurrence (pooled risk ratio 0.33, 95% CI, 0.11-0.99). Conclusions: This review highlights multiple seroma prevention techniques for abdominoplasty investigated in recent high-quality literature. We suggest future randomized comparative studies of the various seroma prevention methods to fully ascertain their efficacy following abdominoplasty.

Practice Patterns Affecting Delays in Care of Testicular Torsion.

OBJECTIVES: To compare impact of day or on-call team, pediatric or adult attending, and patient age on testicular torsion management and outcomes. METHODS: A retrospective study of patients with testicular torsion between 2012 and 2022 at a single institution was conducted. Variables impacting management time were assessed using univariate analyses. RESULTS: One hundred and thirty-four patients were included: 49 underwent orchiectomies and 84 underwent orchiopexies. There was no significant difference between efficiency of on-call vs day team regarding time to ultrasound or time to operating room (OR). There were no significant differences between pediatric vs adult attending surgeons for time to surgery, intraoperative length of surgery, or testicular salvage rates. However, when patients were stratified by age greater or younger than 18years, older patients had significantly longer symptom duration (91.9 vs 20.0 minutes, P = .005), time to receive an ultrasound from emergency room registration (152 vs 87 minutes, P < .001), time to OR from emergency room registration (268 vs 185 minutes, P < .001), and time to OR from ultrasound read (187 vs 123 minutes, P = .03). Older patients also had lower rates of testicular salvage approaching significance (orchiectomy rate 48.8% vs 31.5%, P = .057). CONCLUSION: While no significant delays in testicular torsion management were detected between management by on-call vs day team nor pediatric vs adult attending, increased age of patient was associated with delays in definitive surgical management. Greater index of suspicion for testicular torsion diagnosis in adult patients may improve the rate of testicular salvage.

Fluid intake behavior in women with refractory overactive bladder undergoing third line therapy.

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES: Fluid intake has been shown to be related to urinary symptoms, but no studies to date have investigated the effect of fluid intake on urinary symptoms in women with refractory overactive bladder (OAB). As this group of women are considered to have a possible unique pathophysiologic mechanism of OAB, we investigated the relationship between fluid intake, fluid intake behavior, and urinary symptoms in women with refractory OAB. METHODS: A prospective cross-sectional study of women with refractory OAB was conducted by assessing the relationship between fluid intake and lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) in women undergoing third line OAB therapies. Fluid intake and behavior were measured by the questionnaire based voiding diary and urinary symptoms were measured by the International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire for Female Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms (ICIQ-FLUTS). The relationship between fluid intake and symptom severity was assessed using Spearman's rank correlation and χ2  tests. RESULTS: Of the 126 individuals undergoing third line therapy for OAB, 60 (48%) underwent intradetrusor onabotulinumtoxinA injection (BTX) injection, 42 (33%) peripheral tibial nerve stimulation, and 24 (19%) sacral neuromodulation. The mean total daily fluid intake was 2567.0 ± SD 1292.4 mL and did not differ significantly across treatment groups. Total fluid intake was weakly correlated with worse filling-type LUTS (r = 0.241, p = 0.007), and there was no relationship between LUTS and caffeinated fluid intake. Half (52%) of the subjects reported current fluid restricting behavior to control urinary symptoms, but this behavior was not correlated with LUTS severity (all p > 0.05). Patients that currently use tobacco have greater LUTS (current = 25.8 ± SD 9.5, former = 14.8 ± SD 6.1, never = 15.0 ± SD 6.1; p < 0.001). BMI was also positively correlated with worse incontinence symptoms (r = 0.351, p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Fluid intake along with other lifestyle factors, including tobacco use and weight, are minimally related to the symptomatology seen in women with refractory OAB. Further studies are needed to assess if behaviors change during treatment with third line therapies, and if these behavioral changes may affect treatment response.

Preoperative Predictors of Surgical Success for Robotic Ureteral Reconstruction of Proximal and Middle Ureteral Strictures.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate predictors of surgical success for patients undergoing robotic ureteral reconstruction (RUR) for ureteropelvic junction obstruction (UPJO), proximal, and middle ureteral stricture disease. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed our multi-institutional Collaborative of Reconstructive Robotic Ureteral Surgery database to identify all consecutive patients undergoing RUR for UPJO, proximal and/or middle ureteral stricture disease between April 2012 and December 2020. The specific reconstruction technique was determined by the primary surgeon based on clinical history and intraoperative findings. Patients were grouped according to whether they were surgical successful. Preoperative variables between both groups were compared using chi-square tests. All independent variables with associations of P <.2 then underwent a binary logistic regression analysis to determine predictive variables of success for RUR (P ≤.05 was considered statistically significant). RESULTS: Overall, 338 patients met inclusion criteria. Surgical success rates of RUR are shown in Table 1. Univariate analysis (Table 2) showed that there were a lower proportion of patients with diabetes (8.9% vs 25.7%, P <.01) and a higher proportion of patients who underwent ureteral rest (74.3% vs 48.6%, P <.01) in the surgical success group. Multivariate logistic regression analysis (Table 3) further revealed the odds of surgical success in patients without diabetes was 3.08 times ((confidence interval) CI 1.26-7.54, P = .01) the odds of success for patients with diabetes. The odds of surgical success in patients who underwent preoperative ureteral rest were 2.8 times (CI 1.35-5.83, P = .01) the odds of success for patients who did not undergo preoperative ureteral rest. CONCLUSION: Surgical success of RUR for management of UPJO, proximal, and middle ureteral strictures may be influenced by factors including preoperative ureteral rest and presence of diabetes.

A Systematic Review of the Impact of Patient Factors on BREAST-Q Outcomes After Reduction Mammoplasty.

BACKGROUND: As reduction mammoplasty rises in popularity, it will become increasingly important to understand the patient-reported outcome measurements associated with a successful operation. There has been a growing body of literature on BREAST-Q outcomes for patients undergoing reduction mammoplasty, but meta-analyses of patient factors and BREAST-Q Reduction Module scores are lacking. This study sought to ascertain which patient factors were associated with improvements in BREAST-Q scores compared with preoperative levels. METHODS: A literature review through August 6, 2021, was conducted using the PubMed database to select publications using the BREAST-Q questionnaire to evaluate outcomes after reduction mammoplasty. Studies examining breast reconstruction, breast augmentation, oncoplastic reduction, or breast cancer patients were excluded. BREAST-Q data were stratified by comorbidities, age, body mass index (BMI), complication rate, and resection weight. RESULTS: Among 14 articles and 1816 patients, the mean age ranged from 15.8 to 55 years, mean BMI ranged from 22.5 to 32.4 kg/m2, and bilateral mean resected weight ranged from 323 to 1845.96 g. Overall complication rate was 19.9%. On average, satisfaction with breasts improved by 52.1 ± 0.9 points (P < 0.0001), psychosocial well-being improved by 43.0 ± 1.0 points (P < 0.0001), sexual well-being improved by 38.2 ± 1.2 points (P < 0.0001), and physical well-being improved by 27.9 ± 0.8 points (P < 0.0001). The mean age was positively correlated with preoperative sexual well-being (Spearman rank correlation coefficient [SRCC]: 0.61, P < 0.05). Body mass index was negatively correlated with preoperative physical well-being (SRCC: -0.78, P < 0.01) and positively correlated with postoperative satisfaction with breasts (SRCC: 0.53, P < 0.05). The mean bilateral resected weight was significantly positively correlated with postoperative satisfaction with breasts (SRCC: 0.61, P < 0.05). No significant correlations were observed between complication rate and preoperative, postoperative, or mean change in BREAST-Q scores. CONCLUSIONS: Reduction mammoplasty improves patient satisfaction and quality of life as reflected by the BREAST-Q. Although preoperative or postoperative BREAST-Q scores may be individually influenced by age and BMI, these variables demonstrated no statistically significant effect on the average change between these scores. This literature review suggests that reduction mammoplasty delivers high satisfaction across a diverse range of patient populations, and additional prospective cohort or comparative studies gathering robust data on other patient factors would benefit this area of research.

Autologous Skin Grafts, versus Tissue-engineered Skin Constructs: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

For over 100 years, autologous skin grafts have remained the gold standard for the reconstruction of wounds but are limited in availability. Acellular tissue-engineered skin constructs (acellular TCs) and cellular tissue-engineered skin constructs (cellular TCs) may address these limitations. This systematic review and meta-analysis compare outcomes between them. Methods: A systematic review was conducted using PRISMA guidelines, querying MEDLINE, Embase, Web of Science, and Cochrane to assess graft incorporation, failure, and wound healing. Case reports/series, reviews, in vitro/in vivo work, non-English articles or articles without full text were excluded. Results: Sixty-six articles encompassing 4076 patients were included. No significant differences were found between graft failure rates (P = 0.07) and mean difference of percent reepithelialization (p = 0.92) when split-thickness skin grafts were applied alone versus co-grafted with acellular TCs. Similar mean Vancouver Scar Scale was found for these two groups (p = 0.09). Twenty-one studies used at least one cellular TC. Weighted averages from pooled results did not reveal statistically significant differences in mean reepithelialization or failure rates for epidermal cellular TCs compared with split-thickness skin grafts (p = 0.55). Conclusions: This systematic review is the first to illustrate comparable functional and wound healing outcomes between split-thickness skin grafts alone and those co-grafted with acellular TCs. The use of cellular TCs seems promising from preliminary findings. However, these results are limited in clinical applicability due to the heterogeneity of study data, and further level 1 evidence is required to determine the safety and efficacy of these constructs.

Are Surgical Approaches Correlated With BREAST-Q Score Improvements After Reduction Mammoplasty? A Systematic Review.

BACKGROUND: Despite the commonly recognized benefits and drawbacks of each surgical technique for reduction mammoplasty, data on the influence of each surgical approach on patient quality of life and satisfaction remains limited. Our study aims to evaluate the association between surgical factors and BREAST-Q scores for reduction mammoplasty patients. METHODS: A literature review through August 6, 2021, was conducted using the PubMed database to select publications that used the BREAST-Q questionnaire to evaluate outcomes after reduction mammoplasty. Studies examining breast reconstruction, breast augmentation, oncoplastic reduction, or breast cancer patients were excluded. The BREAST-Q data were stratified by incision pattern and pedicle type. RESULTS: We identified 14 articles that met selection criteria. Among 1816 patients, the mean age ranged from 15.8 to 55 years, mean body mass index ranged from 22.5 to 32.4 kg/m 2 , and bilateral mean resected weight ranged from 323 to 1845.96 g. Overall complication rate was 19.9%. On average, satisfaction with breasts improved by 52.1 ± 0.9 points ( P < 0.0001), psychosocial well-being improved by 43.0 ± 1.0 points ( P < 0.0001), sexual well-being improved by 38.2 ± 1.2 points ( P < 0.0001), and physical well-being improved by 27.9 ± 0.8 points ( P < 0.0001). No significant correlations were observed when mean difference was modeled against complication rates or prevalence of superomedial pedicle use, inferior pedicle use, Wise pattern incision, or vertical pattern incision. Complication rates were not correlated with preoperative, postoperative, or mean change in BREAST-Q scores. A negative correlation was noted between the prevalence of superomedial pedicle use and postoperative physical well-being (Spearman rank correlation coefficient [SRCC], -0.66742; P < 0.05). The prevalence of Wise pattern incision was negatively correlated with postoperative sexual well-being (SRCC, -0.66233; P < 0.05) and physical well-being (SRCC, -0.69521; P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Although either preoperative or postoperative BREAST-Q scores may be individually influenced by pedicle or incision type, there was no statistically significant effect of surgical approach or complication rates on the average change of these scores, and overall satisfaction and well-being scores improved. This review suggests that any of the main surgical approaches to reduction mammoplasty provide equally substantial improvements in patient-reported satisfaction and quality of life, but more robust comparative studies would strengthen this area of research.

Complications Following Alloplastic Chin Augmentation: A Systematic Review of Implant Materials and Surgical Techniques.

BACKGROUND: Alloplastic implantation has become a popular method of chin augmentation. Historically, silicone was the most commonly used implant, but porous materials have grown in favor due to improved fibrovascularization and stability. Nevertheless, it is unclear which implant type has the most favorable complication profile. This systematic review aims to compare the complications of published chin implants and surgical approaches to provide data-driven recommendations for optimizing chin augmentation outcomes. METHODS: The PubMed® database was queried on March 14, 2021. We selected studies reporting data on alloplastic chin augmentation excluding additional procedures such as osseous genioplasty, fat grafting, autologous grafting, and fillers. The following complications were extracted from each article: malposition, infection, extrusion, revision, removal, paresthesias, and asymmetry. RESULTS: Among the 39 articles analyzed, the year of publication ranged from 1982 to 2020; additionally, 31 were retrospective case series, 5 were retrospective cohort or comparative studies, 2 were case reports, and 1 was a prospective case series. More than 3104 patients were included. Among the 11 implants reported, the 3 implants with the highest number of publications were silicone, high-density porous polyethylene (HDPE), and expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE). Silicone demonstrated the lowest rates of paresthesias (0.4%) compared to HDPE (20.1%, P < 0.01) and ePTFE (3.2%, P < 0.05). In contrast, there were no statistically significant differences in rates of implant malposition, infection, extrusion, revision, removal, or asymmetry when stratified by implant type. Various surgical approaches were also documented. Compared with subperiosteal implant placement, the dual-plane technique demonstrated higher rates of implant malposition (2.8% vs 0.5%, P < 0.04), revision (4.7% vs 1.0%, P < 0.001), and removal (4.7% vs 1.1%, P < 0.01), but a lower incidence of paresthesias (1.9% vs. 10.8%, P < 0.01). Compared with extraoral incisions, intraoral incisions resulted in higher rates of implant removal (1.5% vs 0.5%, P < 0.05) but lower rates of asymmetry (0.7% vs 7.5%, P < 0.01). CONCLUSION: Silicone, HDPE, and ePTFE had low overall complication rates, demonstrating an acceptable safety profile regardless of implant selection. Surgical approach was found to significantly influence complications. Additional comparative studies on surgical approach while controlling for implant type would be beneficial for optimizing alloplastic chin augmentation practices.