Polypharmacy, over-the-counter medications, and aromatase inhibitor adherence in early-stage breast cancer.

PURPOSE: Polypharmacy is associated with negative health outcomes and decreased medication adherence. Polypharmacy is common in cancer populations, but few studies have evaluated the relationship between polypharmacy and aromatase inhibitor (AI) adherence. No studies have evaluated the relationship between over-the-counter (OTC) supplements and AI adherence. Our primary hypothesis was that polypharmacy would be associated with increased risk of premature AI discontinuation. METHODS: This exploratory analysis used data from the Exemestane and Letrozole Pharmacogenetics (ELPh) trial, a prospective, multicenter, randomized controlled trial that enrolled participants from 2005 to 2009. Included patients were female, postmenopausal, with stage 0-III breast cancer, who had completed indicated chemotherapy, surgery, and radiation. Participants were randomized to adjuvant exemestane or letrozole and completed serial clinical examinations and questionnaires for two years. Concomitant medication data were collected prospectively. Cox proportion models were used for statistical analysis of the relationship between polypharmacy, OTCs, medication class, and AI adherence. RESULTS: In the 490 analyzed participants, use of any prescription medications at baseline was associated with decreased risk of premature AI discontinuation (HR 0.56, p = 0.02). Use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) or selective serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs) at baseline was associated with decreased risk of premature AI discontinuation (HR 0.67, p = 0.04). Use of any OTCs was not associated with AI discontinuation. CONCLUSION: Baseline use of prescription medications but not OTCs was associated with increased AI persistence. Future research is needed to understand how this can be utilized to promote AI adherence.

Trends in the Utilization of Herbal and Dietary Supplements in Patients with Chronic Liver Disease During the SARS-CoV2 Pandemic.

Background: We studied the pattern of herbal and dietary supplement (HDS) use in patients with chronic liver disease (CLD) during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: A questionnaire/survey was sent to hepatology patients with CLD under the care of hepatologists at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Results: The 5 most taken dietary supplements during the pandemic included vitamin B12 (27.7%), vitamin C (32.4%), vitamin D (54.6%), zinc (25.4%) and green tea extract (20.8%). Most participants (82.3%) did not discuss their HDS use with their hepatology providers. Conclusions: Healthcare providers should be mindful of potential HDS use in patients with CLD.

Abnormal liver chemistries as a predictor of COVID-19 severity and clinical outcomes in hospitalized patients.

BACKGROUND: Abnormal liver chemistries are common findings in patients with Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). However, the association of these abnormalities with the severity of COVID-19 and clinical outcomes is poorly understood. AIM: We aimed to assess the prevalence of elevated liver chemistries in hospitalized patients with COVID-19 and compare the serum liver chemistries to predict the severity and in-hospital mortality. METHODS: This retrospective, observational study included 3380 patients with COVID-19 who were hospitalized in the Johns Hopkins Health System (Baltimore, MD, United States). Demographic data, clinical characteristics, laboratory findings, treatment measures, and outcome data were collected. Cox regression modeling was used to explore variables associated with abnormal liver chemistries on admission with disease severity and prognosis. RESULTS: A total of 2698 (70.4%) had abnormal alanine aminotransferase (ALT) at the time of admission. Other more prevalent abnormal liver chemistries were aspartate aminotransferase (AST) (44.4%), alkaline phosphatase (ALP) (16.1%), and total bilirubin (T-Bil) (5.9%). Factors associated with liver injury were older age, Asian ethnicity, other race, being overweight, and obesity. Higher ALT, AST, T-Bil, and ALP levels were more commonly associated with disease severity. Multivariable adjusted Cox regression analysis revealed that abnormal AST and T-Bil were associated with the highest mortality risk than other liver injury indicators during hospitalization. Abnormal AST, T-Bil, and ALP were associated with a need for vasopressor drugs, whereas higher levels of AST, T-Bil, and a decreased albumin levels were associated with mechanical ventilation. CONCLUSION: Abnormal liver chemistries are common at the time of hospital admission in COVID-19 patients and can be closely related to the patient's severity and prognosis. Elevated liver chemistries, specifically ALT, AST, ALP, and T-Bil levels, can be used to stratify risk and predict the need for advanced therapies in these patients.

The Effect of Chaplain Patient Navigators and Multidisciplinary Family Meetings on Patient Outcomes in the ICU: The Critical Care Collaboration and Communication Project.

OBJECTIVES: To assess the effectiveness of a chaplain patient navigator in improving outcomes and reducing costs in the ICU setting. DESIGN: A randomized controlled trial at a large, urban, academic community hospital in Baltimore, Maryland. SETTING/PATIENTS: All patients admitted to the Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center Cardiac and Medical ICUs between March 2015 and December 2015. INTERVENTIONS: Patients in the intervention group were assigned a chaplain patient navigator to facilitate communication, offer support, and setup multidisciplinary family meetings. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: The primary outcomes were hospital and ICU length of stay. Secondary outcomes included total and ICU charges, 60- and 90-day readmission rates, and the number of palliative care consults. For all outcomes, patients were included in the intention-to-treat analyses only if they remained in the ICU greater than 24 hours. In total, 1,174 were randomly assigned to "usual care" (n = 573) or to the intervention (n = 601). In the intervention group, 44.8% (269/601) had meetings within 24 hours of admission and, of those patients, 32.8% (88/268) took part in the larger multidisciplinary family meeting 2-3 days later. The intervention group had longer mean adjusted hospital length of stay (7.78 vs 8.63 d; p ≤ 0.001) and mean ICU length of stay (3.65 vs 3.87 d; p = 0.029). In addition, they had greater total and ICU charges. There were no differences in other outcomes. Of note, only differences in total and ICU charges remained when controlling for case-mix index, which were greater in the intervention group. CONCLUSIONS: Although the chaplain patient navigator anecdotally enhanced communication, our study found an increase in hospital and ICU length of stay as well as cost. Since other studies have shown benefits in some clinical outcomes, projects focused on patient navigators may learn lessons from our study in order to better prioritize family meetings, gather indicators of communication quality, and identify the optimal patient navigator operational context.

Predictive factors for fertility preservation in pediatric and adolescent girls with planned gonadotoxic treatment.

PURPOSE: To characterize female pediatric and adolescent patients seen for fertility preservation consultation at an academic medical center and to describe the association between demographic or clinical factors and the use of fertility preservation treatment (FPT). METHODS: This is a retrospective chart analysis of female pediatric and adolescent patients seen for fertility preservation consultation at an academic fertility center over a 14-year period from 2005 to 2019. RESULTS: One hundred six females aged 3-21 years were seen for fertility preservation consultation with a mean age of 16.6 years. Diagnoses included hematologic malignancies (41.5%), gynecologic malignancies (9.4%), other malignancies (31.1%), non-malignant hematologic disease (14.2%), and non-malignant conditions (3.8%). Overall, 64.2% of subjects pursued fertility preservation, including oocyte cryopreservation (35.8%) and ovarian tissue cryopreservation (23.6%). Overall, age, minority race, diagnosis, time since diagnosis, and median household income were not significantly associated with odds of completing an FPT procedure. Among all patients, those who underwent gonadotoxic therapy prior to consultation had a lower odds of receiving FPT (OR= 0.24, 95% CI 0.10-0.55). Among patients without chemotherapy exposure, no factors were associated with FPT. CONCLUSIONS: Among pediatric and adolescent patients at an academic center undergoing a fertility preservation consultation, there were no socioeconomic or clinical barriers to FPT use in those who had not yet undergone gonadotoxic therapy. The only factor that was negatively associated with odds of pursuing FPT was prior chemotherapy exposure.

Distinct Cytokine and Chemokine Dysregulation in Hospitalized Children With Acute Coronavirus Disease 2019 and Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome With Similar Levels of Nasopharyngeal Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Shedding.

BACKGROUND: Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) is a severe clinical phenotype of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection that remains poorly understood. METHODS: Hospitalized children <18 years of age with suspected coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) (N = 53) were recruited into a prospective cohort study; 32 had confirmed COVID-19, with 16 meeting the US Centers for Disease Control criteria for MIS-C. Differences in nasopharyngeal viral ribonucleic acid (RNA) levels, SARS-CoV-2 seropositivity, and cytokine/chemokine profiles were examined, including after adjustments for age and sex. RESULTS: The median ages for those with and without MIS-C were 8.7 years (interquartile range [IQR], 5.5-13.9) and 2.2 years (IQR, 1.1-10.5), respectively (P = .18), and nasopharyngeal levels of SARS-CoV-2 RNA did not differ significantly between the 2 groups (median 63 848.25 copies/mL versus 307.1 copies/mL, P = .66); 75% of those with MIS-C were antibody positive compared with 44% without (P = .026). Levels of 14 of 37 cytokines/chemokines (interleukin [IL]-1RA, IL-2RA, IL-6, IL-8, tumor necrosis factor-α, IL-10, IL-15, IL-18, monocyte chemoattractant protein [MCP]-1, IP-10, macrophage-inflammatory protein [MIP]-1α, MCP-2, MIP-1ß, eotaxin) were significantly higher in children with MIS-C compared to those without, irrespective of age or sex (false discovery rate <0.05; P < .05). CONCLUSIONS: The distinct pattern of heightened cytokine/chemokine dysregulation observed with MIS-C, compared with acute COVID-19, occurs across the pediatric age spectrum and with similar levels of nasopharyngeal SARS-CoV-2 RNA.

Women with sickle cell disease report low knowledge and use of long acting reversible contraception.

BACKGROUND: High rates of unplanned pregnancy and low rates of contraception use are reported among women with sickle cell disease (SCD). Pregnancy in women with SCD is high risk and unintended pregnancies limit opportunities to provide indicated preconception care and counseling. Contraceptive use in women with SCD is complicated by a lack of disease-specific data about treatment risks and benefits. The purpose of this study was to describe, for the first time in the U.S. context, contraceptive use, knowledge and preferences in adult cohort of women with SCD. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A single-center survey study of women with SCD of reproductive age from our Center's adult and pediatric sickle cell centers. RESULTS: Seventy-eight women ages 28-65 years (median 33.5 years, IQR 16) completed surveys. Seventy-three percent of respondents had an average of 2.5 pregnancies (S.D. 1.22) and of these, 58% reported being pregnant when they did not want to be pregnant at least once. The most common forms of contraception used were condoms (87%), birth control pills (46%), medroxyprogesterone (44%) and withdrawal (44%). Twenty-two percent of subjects reported using a long-acting reversible form of contraception and 21% reported a tubal ligation or partner vasectomy. Respondents demonstrated low knowledge of the efficacy of contraceptive options and over-estimated the risk of pregnancy with the IUD, implant. Contraceptive priorities included pregnancy prevention, decreasing HIV transmission and effects on SCD symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: Women with SCD have high rates of unintended pregnancy, low knowledge of contraceptive efficacy and low use of long-acting reversible contraception.

Reaching Those Most at Risk for HIV Acquisition: Evaluating Racial/Ethnic Disparities in the Preexposure Prophylaxis Care Continuum in Baltimore City, Maryland.

BACKGROUND: Reducing HIV incidence requires addressing persistent racial/ethnic disparities in HIV burden. Our goal was to evaluate preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP) delivery, overall and relative to community need, among 7 clinical sites participating in a health department-led demonstration project to increase PrEP in Baltimore city, MD. METHODS: PrEP care continuum stages (screened, indicated, referred, linked, evaluated, prescribed) were examined among HIV-negative individuals receiving services at participating sites between September 30, 2015 and September 29, 2019. Community need was defined using information on new HIV diagnoses (2016-2018). Differences in care continuum progression by demographics/priority population and comparison of demographic compositions between care continuum stages and new HIV diagnoses were examined using modified Poisson regression and χ2 tests, respectively. RESULTS: Among 25,886 PrEP-screened individuals, the majority were non-Hispanic (NH) black (81.1%, n = 20,998), cisgender male (61.1%, n = 15,825), and heterosexual (86.7%, n = 22,452). Overall, 31.1% (n = 8063) were PrEP-indicated; among whom, 56.8% (n = 4578), 15.6% (n = 1250), 10.8% (n = 868), and 9.0% (n = 722) were PrEP-referred, linked, evaluated, and prescribed, respectively. Among 2870 men who have sex with men (MSM), 18.7% (n = 538) were PrEP-prescribed. Across all groups, the highest attrition was between PrEP-referred and PrEP-linked. NH-black race (vs. NH-white) was independently associated with lower likelihood of PrEP prescription (aPR, 0.89; 95% confidence interval, 0.81 to 0.98 controlling for age/gender). Relative to the demographic composition of new HIV diagnoses, fewer NH-blacks (80.2% vs. 54.3%) and more NH-whites (10.7% vs. 30.3%) and MSM were PrEP prescribed (55.2% vs. 74.5%). CONCLUSIONS: This project showed promise delivering PrEP referrals and prescriptions overall and to MSM. Substantial improvement is needed to improve linkage overall and to decrease disparities in PrEP prescriptions among NH-blacks. Future work should focus on addressing service gaps that hinder PrEP utilization.

Public health detailing to increase expedited partner therapy for chlamydia and gonorrhea in Maryland: Changes in awareness and implementation among prescribing community providers.

The objective of this evaluation was to assess the use of public health detailing in a pilot program to increase Expedited Partner Therapy (EPT) uptake among community-based providers in two Maryland jurisdictions. Public health detailing is a method designed to raise awareness and increase implementation of evidence-based clinical practices by delivering educational content via one-on-one meetings with providers. EPT is a voluntary clinical practice of treating all sexual partners of patients diagnosed with STIs by prescribing medications without the provider first examining said sexual partners. The aim of EPT is to prevent STI reinfection and reduce further transmission. From April 2017 to March 2019, detailers visited community-based health care practice sites to conduct EPT detailing with providers. The effectiveness of this program was evaluated by comparing provider responses from pre- to post-detailing surveys, administered six months after detailing. Survey responses assessed EPT awareness and practices, barriers to implementation, and satisfaction with detailing. The proportion of providers (170) aware of EPT for treating chlamydia and gonorrhea increased from 61.7% (114) to 99.4% (169) (p-value < 0.001). The proportion who reported prescribing EPT increased from 63.2% (72) to 86.4% (146) (p-value < 0.001). Providers reporting no barriers to prescribing EPT increased from 30.6% (52) to 55.9% (95) (p-value < 0.001). Most providers were satisfied with detailing, 95.5% (164), and 95.3% (162) preferred this method to communicate about public health measures. Detailing appears to be a strategy to improve provider awareness of EPT, increase EPT implementation, and reduce barriers to prescribing EPT.

Blood biomarkers for neonatal hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy in the presence and absence of sentinel events.

OBJECTIVE: To determine if neonatal serum biomarkers representing different pathways of injury differ for cases of HIE of unknown cause to gain insight into timing and mechanism of injury. STUDY DESIGN: In this cohort of all neonates with HIE admitted to our NICU, newborns with sentinel events were compared to those without during the 1st 3 days of life. Discard neonatal blood during the 1st 3 days of life was used for analysis. RESULTS: Of 277 babies with HIE treated with whole-body hypothermia, 190 (68.6%) had blood available for biomarker analysis. In total, 71 (37.4%) were born within our system, and 119 (62.6%) were transferred in from outside hospitals. Of these babies, 77 (40.5%) had a sentinel event and 113 (59.6%) had no sentinel event. Although the degree of metabolic acidosis was similar, repeated measures analysis showed that during the initial 3 days of life neonates born with HIE in the absence of sentinel events had 41.4% decreased VEGF (p = 0.027) and 62.5% increased IL-10 serum concentrations (p = 0.005). CONCLUSION: These changes indicate that neonatal HIE in the absence of sentinel events is not related to an unrecognized acute intrapartum event and is possibly related to chronic hypoxia of lower severity or recovery from a remote event.

Cross-Sectional and Longitudinal Performance of Creatinine- and Cystatin C-Based Estimating Equations Relative to Exogenously Measured Glomerular Filtration Rate in HIV-Positive and HIV-Negative Persons.

BACKGROUND: Reliable estimates of glomerular filtration rate (GFR) are important in the clinical management of HIV-positive patients. Data on the performance of widely used estimating equations (eGFR) relative to exogenously measured GFR are sparse in this population. METHODS: We evaluated cross-sectional and longitudinal accuracy and bias of eGFR, based on creatinine and cystatin C, relative to disappearance of infused iohexol from plasma (iGFR) in a cohort of participants followed annually for up to 7 years. RESULTS: A total of 222 HIV-positive and 139 HIV-negative participants contributed 1240 visits with valid iGFR and eGFR measures. Estimated GFR based on both creatinine and cystatin C performed the best. Estimated GFR based on creatinine alone overestimated iGFR by 9 mL·min·1.73 m on average and was significantly less accurate in HIV-positive than HIV-negative individuals. The performance of equations based on either creatinine alone or cystatin C alone were significantly affected by participant factors (eg, non-suppressed HIV RNA, nadir CD4 count, hepatitis C virus coinfection). The average iGFR slope was -4% per year in HIV-positive participants. In both HIV-positive and HIV-negative participants, eGFR slope measures were generally unbiased but inaccurate, with only 60%-74% of observations falling within ±5% points of iGFR slope. CONCLUSIONS: Both creatinine and cystatin C have limitations as GFR indices in HIV-positive individuals. Estimated GFR based on both creatinine and cystatin C performed best in our study and may be preferred in HIV-positive persons with kidney disease or comorbidities that place them at high risk for kidney disease.

Insulin-like growth factor binding protein-2: a new circulating indicator of pulmonary arterial hypertension severity and survival.

BACKGROUND: Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a fatal disease that results from cardio-pulmonary dysfunction with the pathology largely unknown. Insulin-like growth factor binding protein 2 (IGFBP2) is an important member of the insulin-like growth factor family, with evidence suggesting elevation in PAH patients. We investigated the diagnostic and prognostic value of serum IGFBP2 in PAH to determine if it could discriminate PAH from healthy controls and if it was associated with disease severity and survival. METHODS: Serum IGFBP2 levels, as well as IGF1/2 levels, were measured in two independent PAH cohorts, the Johns Hopkins Pulmonary Hypertension program (JHPH, N = 127), NHLBI PAHBiobank (PAHB, N = 203), and a healthy control cohort (N = 128). The protein levels in lung tissues were determined by western blot. The IGFBP2 mRNA expression levels in pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells (PASMC) and endothelial cells (PAEC) were assessed by RNA-seq, secreted protein levels by ELISA. Association of biomarkers with clinical variables was evaluated using adjusted linear or logistic regression and Kaplan-Meier analysis. RESULTS: In both PAH cohorts, serum IGFBP2 levels were significantly elevated (p < 0.0001) compared to controls and discriminated PAH from controls with an AUC of 0.76 (p < 0.0001). A higher IGFBP2 level was associated with a shorter 6-min walk distance (6MWD) in both cohorts after adjustment for age and sex (coefficient - 50.235 and - 57.336 respectively). Cox multivariable analysis demonstrated that higher serum IGFBP2 was a significant independent predictor of mortality in PAHB cohort only (HR, 3.92; 95% CI, 1.37-11.21). IGF1 levels were significantly increased only in the PAHB cohort; however, neither IGF1 nor IGF2 had equivalent levels of associations with clinical variables compared with IGFBP2. Western blotting shown that IGFBP2 protein was significantly increased in the PAH vs control lung tissues. Finally, IGFBP2 mRNA expression and secreted protein levels were significantly higher in PASMC than in PAEC. CONCLUSIONS: IGFBP2 protein expression was increased in the PAH lung, and secreted by PASMC. Elevated circulating IGFBP2 was associated with PAH severity and mortality and is a potentially valuable prognostic marker in PAH.

Association of Antibiotic Choice With Hospital Length of Stay and Risk Factors for Readmission in Patients With Sickle Cell Disease and Acute Chest Syndrome: An Observational Cohort Study.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: We determine the association between use of specific cephalosporins and macrolides and hospital length of stay in patients with sickle cell disease (SCD) who are admitted with acute chest syndrome, and determine treatment risk factors for acute chest syndrome-related 30-day readmission. METHODS: Patients admitted to 48 US hospitals within the Pediatric Health Information System between January 2008 and December 2016 with associated International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD-9) or ICD-10 diagnoses of SCD and acute chest syndrome were included. Primary outcomes were hospital length of stay and acute chest syndrome-related and all-cause 30-day readmission. Data were analyzed with t tests, ANOVA, and bivariable and multivariable linear and logistic regressions. RESULTS: In 21,126 visits (representing 8,856 patients), median age was 11.2 years (interquartile range 6.1 to 16.5 years), 53.5% were male patients, and 77.2% had hemoglobin SS genotype. Median length of stay was 4 days (interquartile range 2 to 6 days; mean 4.76 days [SD 4.62 days]). Ceftriaxone alone (length of stay 4.75 days [SD 4.66 days]; P<.001) or the combination of ceftriaxone and azithromycin (length of stay 4.84 days [SD 4.74 days]; P<.001) was associated with the shortest length of stay and a reduced risk of acute chest syndrome-related readmission (ceftriaxone odds ratio [OR] 0.31; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.27 to 0.35; ceftriaxone+azithromycin OR 0.20; 95% CI 0.17 to 0.24). Albuterol (OR 0.97; 95% CI 0.96 to 0.98) and RBC transfusion (OR 0.60; 95% CI 0.43 to 0.83) were also associated with decreased rates of acute chest syndrome-related 30-day readmission. All-cause 30-day readmission rate was 16.7% (95% CI 16.2% to 17.3%). CONCLUSION: Guideline-compliant therapy for acute chest syndrome could preferentially include ceftriaxone and azithromycin. All-cause 30-day readmission for acute chest syndrome is lower than that reported for all-cause readmissions for SCD and more consistent with rates of readmission for pneumonia in the general population.

Experience of standard access assisted MPCNL combined with EMS for the treatment of staghorn calculi accompanied with pyonephrosis / 中国内镜杂志

Objective To investigate the efficacy and safety of standard access assisted minimally access percutaneous nephrolithotomy (MPCNL) combined with EMS lithotripsy system in treatment of staghorn caculi accompanied with pyonephrosis. Methods From October 2015 to May 2017, we retrospectively analyzed the clinical data of 53 patients of staghorn calculi accompanied with pyonephrosis (55 sides, 2 patients with bilateral) were treated with using the special urology ultrasound, kidney dome puncture path method method to do standard channel assisted MPCNL combined with EMS. To summarize the operation time, stone clearance rate, postoperative hospital stay, postoperative blood transfusion rate and complications. Results 53 patients had a total of 55 kidneys had been established first-staged F24 channels,and successfully gravel stone. The operation time was (82.3 ± 22.5) min; 72.7% of the renal had been established first-staged F24 channels assisted F16/18 dual channel;18.2% for the first phase F24 and secondary phase F16/18 of the dual or multi-channel; 9.1% PCNL combined with retrograde flexible ureteroscope; 4 cases of extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy. The initial stone-free rate was 70.9% (39/55), total stone-free rate was 89.1% (49/55). 2 patients with postoperative blood transfusion, 1 case of super-selective renal artery embolization to stop bleeding, 3 patients had postoperative fever, 1 case of septic shock, 2 cases of conservative treatment of a small amount of liquid chest, 1 case of apparent low back pain due to urine extravasation, given pain medication.no other serious complications. Conclusions By special urology ultrasound probe guide, use the kidney dome puncture path method to do standard channel assisted MPCNL combined with EMS for the treatment of staghorn calculi accompanied with pyonephrosis, its benefits in high stone-free rate, low renal pelvis pressure, high security rate, low complication rate and so on. Therefore, it is worthy of clinical application.

A prospective, randomised trial comparing plasmakinetic enucleation to standard transurethral resection of the prostate for symptomatic benign prostatic hyperplasia: three-year follow-up results.

BACKGROUND: Plasmakinetic enucleation of the prostate (PKEP) has recently been proved a safe and technically feasible procedure for benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). However, its long-term safety, efficacy, and durability in comparison with the gold-standard transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP) have not yet been reported. OBJECTIVE: To report the 3-yr follow-up results of a prospective, randomised clinical trial comparing PKEP with standard TURP for symptomatic BPH. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: A total of 204 patients with bladder outflow obstruction (BOO) secondary to BPH were prospectively randomised 1:1 into either the PKEP group or the TURP group. INTERVENTION: The patients in each group underwent the procedure accordingly. MEASUREMENTS: All patients were assessed perioperatively and followed at 1, 3, 6, 12, 18, 24, and 36 mo postoperatively. The preoperative and postoperative parameters included International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS), quality of life (QoL) scores, the International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF) questionnaire, maximum urinary flow rates (Q(max)), transrectal ultrasound (TRUS)-assessed prostate volume, postvoid residual urine (PVRU) volume, and serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level. Patient baseline characteristics, perioperative data, and postoperative outcomes were compared. All complications were recorded. RESULTS AND LIMITATIONS: PKEP was significantly superior to TURP in terms of the drop in haemoglobin (0.74±0.33 g/dl vs 1.88±1.06 g/dl; p<0.001), intraoperative irrigation volume (11.7±4.5 l vs 15.4±6.2 l; p<0.001), postoperative irrigation volume and time (18.5±7.6 l vs. 30.0±11.4 l and 16.6±5.2 h vs 25.3±8.5 h; all p<0.001), recovery room stay (67.3±11.1 min vs 82.0±16.4 min; p<0.001), catheterisation time (51.7±26.3 h vs 80.5±31.6 h; p<0.001), hospital stay (98.4±20.4 h vs 134.2±31.5 h; p<0.001), and resected tissue (56.4±12.8 g vs 43.8±15.5 g; p<0.001). There were no statistical differences in operation time and sexual function between the two groups. At 36 mo postoperatively, the PKEP group had a maintained and statistically significant improvement in IPSS (2.4±2.2 vs 4.3±2.9; p<0.001), QoL (0.6±0.5 vs 1.6±1.4; p<0.001), Q(max) (28.8±10.1 ml/s vs 25.1±8.0 ml/s; p=0.017), and TRUS volume (21.0±7.3 ml vs 26.4±6.8 ml; p<0.001), with urodynamically proven deobstruction (Schäfer grade 0.2±0.02 vs 0.8±0.1; p<0.001). More extensive clinical trials are required to validate these results. CONCLUSIONS: PKEP is a safe and highly effective technique for relieving BOO. At 3-yr follow-up, the clinical efficacy of PKEP is durable and compares favourably with TURP.