Attitude and perception of urology by medical students at the end of their medical school: an appraisal from Saudi Arabia

To evaluate the attitude and perception of the graduates of King Saud University [KSU] College of Medicine regarding the quality of their urology rotation, urology exposure during this rotation, confidence about managing common conditions, and career prospects. In 2013, a questionnaire regarding the students' perceptions of urology rotation was developed and E-mailed to all final [5[th]] year medical students and interns of KSU College of Medicine, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Individual responses were recorded, tabulated and compared using descriptive statistics. The overall response rate was 67.7%. Respondents included 101 [49.8%] males and 102 [50.2%] females. All the respondents but 18 [8.9%] were enrolled in a urology rotation during undergraduate years. Only 27 [13.3%] were willing to choose urology specialty as a future career. Significant gender differences were found regarding choice of urology as a future career [P = 0.002] and the need for more urology exposure during surgical rotation [P = 0.002]. Knowledge of medical school graduates is insufficient in many urologic subjects, and there is a need for more urology exposure. Social reasons and lack of knowledge about urology hinder the choice of urology specialty as a future career. Clearance of learning objectives, immediate and prompt feedback on performance and adequate emphasis of common problems and ambulatory care are some aspects that should be taken into account by curriculum planners as they consider improvements to urology rotation program

accuracy of noncontrast spiral computerized tomography in detecting lucent renal stones: a case report and literature review

Renal stones are one of the most common diseases in the urology field that are easily diagnosed by one of the standard imaging techniques. Noncontrast spiral computerized tomography [CT] can detect up to 95% of the renal, ureteric and bladder stones, especially those with calcium composition, and considered nowadays one of the most accurate methods for detecting undetectable stones by other modalities. We report a case of a 60-year-old female who presented with colicky right flank pain due to large calcium oxalate renal stone that is undetected by standard imaging technique including spiral CT scan. Uretroscopy diagnosed and ultimately treat this patient problem

Age, body mass index, and number of previous trials: are they prognosticators of intra-uterine-insemination for infertility treatment?

To examine whether pregnancy rate [PR] of intrauterine insemination [IUI] is related to certain demographic factors, such as age and body mass index [BMI], along with number of IUI cycles performed, a set of infertile Saudi women. During this prospective study [a 24-month period], 301 Saudi women with infertility underwent IUI in our infertility clinic. We investigated whether PR is correlated with patient age and BMI, and the number of IUI trials, in order to determine if they could be used as prognosticators of pregnancy success. The highest PR was 14.89% for ages 19-25 and the lowest PR was 4.16% for ages 41-45, indicating no statistically significant difference among PR in all age groups [p value of 0.225]. Also, in terms of BMI, the highest PR was 13.04% for BMI >/= 35 and the lowest was 7.84% for BMI of <25 to 18.5, indicating no significant difference among different BMI groups [p value of 0.788]. One-cycle treatment, as expected, was more successful [PR=12.84%] than 2-cycle treatment [PR=5.75%], however, 3-5-cycles treatment still showed encouraging results [PR=17.24%]; but the difference did not reach statistical significance [p value=0.167]. PR after IUI treatment remained approximately 10% from 19 to 40 years of age and declined after 40. Although no significant difference was observed among different age groups, earlier treatment is still recommended. There was a positive but not statistically significant correlation between PR and patient's BMI indicating that BMI is not a determining factor. There was also no correlation between PR and number of IUI trials. Patients can thus try as many times as they want before moving on to in vitro fertilization [IVF] treatment

Accurate diagnosis as a prognostic factor in intrauterine insemination treatment of infertile Saudi patients

The study meant to define the prognostic factors that help in prescribing intrauterine insemination [IUI] for infertility treatment which remains an area of continuous improvements. The diagnostic indications of a cohort of IUI-treated patients and their corresponding pregnancy rates [PRs] were randomly and prospectively studied among Saudi cohort of 303 patients for a period of 20 months. The indications of IUI cases were statistically analyzed for those eligible patients over a period of twenty months [January 2010 till August 2011], and the PR that corresponded to each group was investigated as well. P-value less than 0.05 was considered significant. The highest PR, 18.87%, of the polycystic ovarian syndrome [PCOS]-only diagnosed patients, was significantly higher than the average PR of all other indications combined, 7.22%, [p=0.011, compared to all other groups combined]. The second highest PR, 14.0%, of the tubal factor [TF]-only indication, was double the PR average of all other indications combined, though it did not reach significance. However, PCOS and TF accompanied by other indications caused the PR to drop to 5.88% and 5.56%, respectively. However, a group of some hormonal-imbalance based indications had the least PR [0.0% to 2.70%]. Those indications were elevated serum FSH, hyperprolactinemia, hypogonadotrophy, hypothyroidism and endometriosis. The rest of the indications had an average PR [8.33% to 11.11%]. There is a reasonable chance of conception after IUI treatment for female factor infertility except in cases with sever hormonal imbalance. The PCOS cases having the best success chances