Ramadan fasting and rates of admissions for renal colic due to urolithiasis: a retrospective case-control study.

OBJECTIVE: The impact of Ramadan fasting on the prevalence of renal colic (RC) remains controversial. This current study aimed to assess the correlation between Ramadan fasting, prevalence of RC and the rate of urgent endoscopic interventions due to urolithiasis. METHODS: This retrospective case-control study enrolled adult patients with a primary diagnosis of RC secondary to urolithiasis admitted to the emergency department during the years 2009-2019. The prevalence of RC and the rate of urgent urological interventions during Ramadan were compared with the pre- and post-Ramadan months in fasting Muslims and non-fasting non-Muslim patients. RESULTS: A total of 2781 patients with RC were included: 1014 (36.5%) were fasting Muslim and 1767 (63.5%) were non-fasting non-Muslim patients. No significant increase in RC admissions or urgent double J stent (DJS) insertions were observed between pre-Ramadan and Ramadan among fasting Muslims and non-fasting non-Muslim patients. However, fasting Muslims exhibited a significant increase of RC admissions post-Ramadan compared with Ramadan. CONCLUSIONS: There was no correlation between increased RC admissions or urgent DJS insertions when fasting Muslims were compared with non-fasting non-Muslim patients during Ramadan. There were increased RC admissions during the post-Ramadan month, which might indicate a delayed effect of fasting on RC.

Facilitated ureteroscopy using DJ stent implantation in ureterolithiasis: A retrospective study.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the impact of preoperative double J (DJ) stent insertion on outcomes of retrograde semi-rigid ureteroscopy (URS) in patients with upper small and medium sized ureteral stones. METHODS: Between April 2018 and September 2019, we retrospectively reviewed the medical register of Hillel Yaffe tertiary reference Centre (HYMC) for patients who had undergone retrograde semi-rigid URS for urolithiasis. Patients were separated into two groups depending on whether they accepted the DJ stent placement before URS (Group A) or not (Group B). Operating time, stone clearance rate, number of 'rescue' DJ stents, duration of 'rescue' stents, complication rate and requirement for repeat URS were compared between groups. RESULTS: 318 procedures undertaken in 290 patients were included (Group A, 83 procedures in 80 patiants; Group B, 235 procedures in 210 patients). By comparison with the non-stented group, patients in the preoperative DJ stented group had a higher stone clearance rate, lower complication rate, less need for postoperative 'rescue' DJ stent, lower duration of 'rescue' stent and lower re-operative URS requirement, including application of a flexible URS. CONCLUSION: Facilitated semi-rigid URS with upstream DJ stenting for small and medium size ureteral stones has favourable periprocedural outcomes compared with primary URS.

Impact of seasonal variations on incidence and laterality of testicular torsion.

Nowadays, there is confusing evidence in the literature regarding the association between seasonal variations and events of testicular torsion (TT). We attempted to assess the correlation between seasonal variations, including season, ambient temperatures, and humidity levels to onset and laterality of testicular torsion. We conducted a retrospective review of patients diagnosed with testicular torsion and confirmed surgically between January 2009 and December 2019, at Hillel Yaffe Medical Center. Weather data was collected from meteorological observation stations near the hospital. TT incidents were stratified into five temperature categories (< 15 °C, 15-20 °C, 20-25 °C, 25-30 °C, > 30 °C) and into two categories of humidity (≤ 50%, > 50%). Potential associations between TT and seasonal variations were investigated. Of 235 patients diagnosed with TT, 156 (66%) were children and adolescents and 79 (34%) were adults. In both groups, rate of TT incidents increased in winter and fall months. Significant correlation between TT and temperatures below 15 °C was observed in both groups; OR 3.3 [95% IC 1.54-7.07], p = 0.002 in children and adolescents and 3.77 [1.79-7.94], p < 0.001) in adults. The correlation between TT and humidity was non-significant in both groups. Among children and adolescents left-sided TT was observed in most of the cases, with strong correlation to lower temperatures; OR 3.15 [1.34-7.40], p = 0.008. Higher rates of acute TT were observed in patients admitted to the emergency department (ED) during the cold seasons in Israel. Significant association was observed between left-side TT and temperatures below 15 °C in the children and adolescents' group. Our findings suggest that there might be a predilection for TT occurrence in cold weather, particularly left-side laterality among children and adolescents.