Managing Urology Consultations During COVID-19 Pandemic: Application of a Structured Care Pathway.

OBJECTIVE: To describe and evaluate a risk-stratified triage pathway for inpatient urology consultations during the SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) pandemic. This pathway seeks to outline a urology patient care strategy that reduces the transmission risk to both healthcare providers and patients, reduces the healthcare burden, and maintains appropriate patient care. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Consultations to the urology service during a 3-week period (March 16 to April 2, 2020) were triaged and managed via one of 3 pathways: Standard, Telemedicine, or High-Risk. Standard consults were in-person consults with non COVID-19 patients, High-Risk consults were in-person consults with COVID-19 positive/suspected patients, and Telemedicine consults were telephonic consults for low-acuity urologic issues in either group of patients. Patient demographics, consultation parameters and consultation outcomes were compared to consultations from the month of March 2019. Categorical variables were compared using Chi-square test and continuous variables using Mann-Whitney U test. A P value <.05 was considered significant. RESULTS: Between March 16 and April 2, 2020, 53 inpatient consultations were performed. By following our triage pathway, a total of 19/53 consultations (35.8%) were performed via Telemedicine with no in-person exposure, 10/53 consultations (18.9%) were High-Risk, in which we strictly controlled the urology team member in-person contact, and the remainder, 24/53 consultations (45.2%), were performed as Standard in-person encounters. COVID-19 associated consultations represented 18/53 (34.0%) of all consultations during this period, and of these, 8/18 (44.4%) were managed successfully via Telemedicine alone. No team member developed COVID-19 infection. CONCLUSION: During the COVID-19 pandemic, most urology consultations can be managed in a patient and physician safety-conscious manner, by implementing a novel triage pathway.

Outcomes of Surgery in Peyronie's Disease Following Intralesional Collagenase Clostridium Histolyticum Injections.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: To explore the potential hurdles surgeons may encounter when preforming surgical correction of penile curvature in patients with Peyronie's Disease following intralesional collagenase clostridium histolyticum injections. RECENT FINDINGS: Although limited data exists, retrospective analysis of surgeon experiences in surgical treatment of refractory penile curvature in patients with Peyronie's disease appears to not result in more post-operative complications and may only slightly increase intra-operative difficulty. As the use of intralesional collagenase clostridium histolyticum continues to increase and patients who demonstrate persistent curvature despite treatment seek further management, the role of investigating the feasibility of surgery demonstrates significant importance. Although limited data exists, it appears that surgery following intralesional collagenase clostridium histolyticum is safe without added post-operative complications. At the present time, however, further data on intra-operative findings and post-operative outcomes remain necessary, and as the use of this intralesional therapy continues to rise, further information should become readily available.

Prostate volume measured by magnetic resonance imaging is not a predictor of lower urinary tract symptoms.

PURPOSE: Prostate volume is frequently utilized to counsel patients presenting to family medicine physicians with voiding complaints. We evaluated the relation between International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS) and prostate volume measured by phased-array surface coil magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). METHODS: We performed an institutional review board (IRB)-approved retrospective study of all patients who received a prostate MRI between 2015 and 2017. Correlation between the overall IPSS, IPSS components, prostate volume stratified by prostate specific antigen (PSA) (<1.4 vs. ≥1.4 g/dL), and race (black vs. white) was examined. RESULTS: In all, 592 patients had prostate MRIs performed between 2015 and 2017. Two hundred and twenty-nine of these patients had IPSS and prostate volume information available in their medical records. The mean age of the cohort was 64.67 (SD = ±7.82) and mean PSA was 7.75 (SD = ±8.3). The mean IPSS was 9.77 (SD ± 7.2), and mean prostate volume was 55.88 cubic cm (SD = ±38.9). The correlation coefficient between prostate volume and IPSS was 0.12789 (P = 0.05). The correlation between prostate volume and IPSS was also not significant in 128 men with prostate volume above 40 cubic cm. Stratifying analysis by race and PSA showed no significant correlation between volume and IPSS. Analysis of the correlation between the different dimension of prostate volume and IPSS revealed significant but weak associations. CONCLUSIONS: Even with more precise estimation with MRI, prostate volume does not predict obstruction complaints. This finding is of importance when treating males presenting with voiding dysfunction to primary care.