Perception and satisfaction of patients after telemedicine urology consultations: A matched analysis with physicians' perspective.

INTRODUCTION: During the first regional COVID-19 lockdown in March 2020, we conducted a study aimed at evaluating completeness of telemedicine consultation in urology. Of 1679 consultations, 67% were considered completely managed by phone. The aim of the present study was to assess patients' experience and satisfaction with telemedicine and to compare them with urologists' perceptions about quality and completeness of the telemedicine consultation. METHODS: We contacted a randomly selected sample of patients (n=356) from our previous study to enquire about their experience. We used a home patient experience questionnaire, inspired by the Patient Experiences Questionnaire for Out-of-Hours Care (PEQOHC) and the Consumer Assessment Health Profile Survey (CAHPS). RESULTS: Of 356 patients contacted, 315 agreed to complete the questionnaire. Urological consultations were for non-oncological (104), oncological (121), cancer suspicion (41), and pediatric (49) indications. Mean patient satisfaction score after telemedicine consultation was 8.8/10 (median 9/10) and 86.3% of patients rated the quality of the consultation as either excellent (54.6%) or very good (31.7%). Consultations regarding cancer suspicion had the lowest score (8.3/10). Overall, 46.7% of all patients would have preferred an in-person visit outside of the pandemic situation. Among patients whose consultations were rated suboptimal by urologists, almost a third more (31.2%) would have preferred an in-person visit (p=0.03). CONCLUSIONS: Despite high reported patient satisfaction rates with telemedicine, it is noteworthy that nearly half of the patients would have preferred an in-person visit. Post-pandemic, it will be important to incorporate telemedicine as an alternative, while retaining and offering in-person visits.

A prospective, multisite study analyzing the percentage of urological cases that can be completely managed by telemedicine.

INTRODUCTION: The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the development of telemedicine due to confinement measures. However, the percentage of outpatient urological cases that could be managed completely by telemedicine outside of the COVID-19 pandemic remains to be determined. We conducted a prospective, multisite study involving all urologists working in the region of Quebec City. METHODS: During the first four weeks of the regional confinement, 18 pediatric and adult urologists were asked to determine, after each telemedicine appointment, if it translated into a complete (CCM), incomplete (ICM), or suboptimal case management (SCM, adequate only in the context of the pandemic). RESULTS: A total of 1679 appointments representing all urological areas were registered. Overall, 67.6% (95% confidence interval [CI] 65.3; 69.8), 27.1% (25.0; 29.3), and 4.3% (3.5; 5.4) were reported as CCM, SCM, and ICM, respectively. The CCM ratio varied according to the reason for consultation, with cancer suspicion (52.9% [42.9; 62.8]) and pediatric reasons (38.0% [30.0; 46.6]) showing the lowest CCM percentages. CCM percentages also varied significantly based on the setting where it was performed, ranging from 61.1% (private clinic) to 86.8% (endourology and general hospital). CONCLUSIONS: We show that two-thirds of all urological outpatient cases could be completely managed by telemedicine outside of the pandemic. After the pandemic, it will be important to incorporate telemedicine as an alternative for a patient's first or followup visit, especially those with geographical, pathological, and socioeconomic considerations.

Lysophosphatidic acid enhances collagen deposition and matrix thickening in engineered tissue.

The time needed to produce engineered tissue is critical. A self-assembly approach provided excellent results regarding biological functions and cell differentiation because it closely respected the microenvironment of cells. Nevertheless, the technique was time consuming for producing tissue equivalents with enough extracellular matrix to allow manipulations. Unlike L-arginine supplementation that only increased accumulation of collagen in cell culture supernatant in our model, addition of lysophosphatidic acid, a natural bioactive lipid, did not modify the amount of accumulated collagen in the cell culture supernatant; however, it enhanced the matrix deposition rate without inducing fibroblast hyperproliferation and tissue fibrosis.

IL-8 secretion in primary cultures of prostate cells is associated with prostate cancer aggressiveness.

BACKGROUND: Chronic inflammation is believed to be a major factor in prostate cancer initiation and promotion and has been studied using prostate cancer cells and immortalized cell lines. However, little is known about the contribution of normal cells to the prostatic microenvironment and inflammation. We aim to study the contribution of normal prostate epithelial cells to prostate inflammation and to link the inflammatory status of normal cells to prostate cancer aggressiveness. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Short-term primary cell cultures of normal epithelial prostate cells were derived from prostate biopsies from 25 men undergoing radical prostatectomy, cystoprostatectomy, or organ donation. Cells were treated with polyinosinic:polycytidylic acid, a mimic of double-stranded viral RNA and a potent inducer of the inflammatory response. Secretion of interleukin (IL)-8 in the cell culture medium by untreated and treated cells was measured and we determined the association between IL-8 levels in these primary cell cultures and prostate cancer characteristics. The Fligner-Policello test was used to compare the groups. RESULTS: Baseline and induced IL-8 secretion were highly variable between cultured cells from different patients. This variation was not related to drug use, past medical history, age, or preoperative prostate-specific antigen value. Nonetheless, an elevated secretion of IL-8 from normal cultured epithelial cells was associated with prostate cancer aggressiveness (P=0.0005). CONCLUSION: The baseline secretion of IL-8 from normal prostate epithelial cells in culture is strongly correlated with cancer aggressiveness and may drive prostate cancer carcinogenesis. A better characterization of individual prostate microenvironment may provide a basis for personalized treatment and for monitoring the effects of strategies aimed at preventing aggressive prostate cancer.

Complete Penile Necrosis in a Patient With Heparin-induced Thrombocytopenia: A Case Report.

Penile necrosis is a rare condition that has been mostly described in association with diabetes mellitus and end-stage renal disease. We report an unusual case of acute penile necrosis because of heparin-induced thrombocytopenia. A 75-year-old man presented with acute renal failure and experienced cardiac complications during the hospitalization. The patient was treated twice with intravenous heparin. He developed symptoms of penile necrosis 4 days after the reintroduction of heparin. At that moment, the platelet count dropped by 61%, and the analysis of heparin-pf4 antibodies was positive for heparin-induced thrombocytopenia. The patient underwent a total penectomy and a perineal urethrostomy.