Influence of Virtual Reality Devices on Pain and Anxiety in Patients Undergoing Cystoscopy Performed under Local Anaesthesia.

BACKGROUND: Bladder cancer is one of the most common malignancies. Its diagnosis is based on transurethral cystoscopy. Virtual reality (VR) is a three-dimensional world generated through the projection of images, the emission of sounds and other stimuli. VR has been proven to be a very effective "distractor" and, thus, a useful tool in managing pain. The aim of this study was to determine whether the use of VR sets is technically feasible during the cystoscopy and whether the use of VR devices would reduce the degree of ailments associated with the procedure; Methods: The study prospectively included both men and women who qualified for rigid cystoscopy due to both primary and follow-up diagnostics. The study group underwent rigid cystoscopy with the VR set and the control group underwent the procedure without the VR set. Patients enrolled in both groups were subjected to blood pressure, heart rate and saturation measurements before, during and after the procedure. Additionally, the patients were asked to describe the severity of fear, pain sensations and nausea associated with the procedure. Non-verbal pain manifestations were assessed using the adult adjusted Faces, Legs, Activity, Cry and Consolability (FLACC) scale; Results: The study population included 103 patients (74M/29F; mean age 64.4 years). Pain intensity differed significantly between the groups, reaching lower values in the VR group. In all analyzed subgroups the use of the VR set was associated with higher levels of nausea. The mean FLACC score reached higher values for patients without the VR set. Blood pressure as well as heart rate increased during the procedure and decreased afterwards. The increase in systolic blood pressure and pulse rate was statistically higher in the control group; Conclusions: This study confirmed that cystoscopy is associated with considerable preprocedural fear and severe pain. Blood pressure and heart rate rise significantly during the cystoscopy. VR sets can lower pain perception during cystoscopy, but they may cause moderate nausea.

Pain reduction methods during transurethral cystoscopy.

Transurethral cystoscopy (CS) is a common urological procedure, performed mostly for diagnostic but also for therapeutic purposes. Although CS is generally well tolerated, some patients describe the pain related to the procedure as high or even "unbearable". As a result, many patients fear and avoid both primary and/or follow-up cystoscopies. This may lead to uncontrolled progression of neoplastic disease. Therefore, it is crucial to maximally increase the comfort of the patient and to implement safe and effective analgesia before the procedure. Providing the patients with appropriate care during CS can encourage them to comply with diagnostic schedules and improve their prognosis. The aim of this review is to analyze the available literature on various methods of pain reduction during transurethral CS. The PubMed electronic database limited to English articles published until January 2021 was used in the process. Meta-analyses, systematic reviews, randomized controlled trials, clinical trials, prospective randomized studies, multicenter comparisons, reviews and retrospective comparisons were used. As a result, 65 articles were included in this review.

Does restaging transurethral resection of bladder tumour influence outcomes in patients treated with BCG immunotherapy? 491 cases in 20 years' experience.

INTRODUCTION: Bladder cancer is one of the most common malignancies worldwide. AIM: To analyse the influence of restaging transurethral resection of bladder tumour (reTURB) on outcomes in patients treated with BCG immunotherapy. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We analysed a database of 491 patients who were treated in a Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) outpatient department between 1998 and 2016. A minimum of 12 months of follow-up was required. The study included 235 patients with a history of the reTURB procedure and 256 patients without reTURB. The patients were analysed in terms of recurrence-free (RFS), progression-free (PFS), cancer-specific and overall survival. RESULTS: The RFS was significantly higher in the reTURB group for both general and subgroup analysis (T1HG, TaHG). The PFS was significantly higher in the reTURB group for both general and subgroup analysis (TaHG). In patients without lamina muscularis in the specimen there was a greater improvement in RFS due to the reTURB procedure than for other patients. ReTURB performed in T1 tumours with massive lamina propria infiltration had a positive influence on RFS. In patients with reTURB the presence of focal invasion was related to lower risk of progression. Both overall and cancer-specific survival were significantly improved by the reTURB procedure in T1HG and HG tumours. CONCLUSIONS: This study highlights the importance of reTURB. It was found that the patients with TaHG tumours benefited the most in terms of RFS, PFS and cancer-specific survival. It was also demonstrated that massive lamina propria infiltration in T1 tumours is associated with the worst outcomes.

The Optimal Timing of Restaging Resection before Introduction of Bacillus Calmette-Guerin Immunotherapy in Patients with High-Risk Non-Muscle-Invasive Bladder Cancer.

INTRODUCTION: The study aimed to analyze the influence of restaging transurethral resection of bladder tumor (reTURB) timing on outcomes in patients receiving Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) immunotherapy. MATERIAL AND METHODS: This retrospective study enrolled 491 patients with bladder cancer receiving BCG intravesical therapy between 1998 and 2016. All patients were followed up for at least 12 months and received at least 7 BCG instillations. The patients were analyzed in terms of recurrence free, progression free, and cancer specific survival (CSS). RESULTS: Median follow-up was 57 months (12-257 months). The risk for all analyzed clinical events was higher in patients who underwent reTURB after 6 weeks from primary TURB. After the change point of 57 days after primary resection, further delay was not associated with increased risk of recurrence and progression. The time limit for CSS was 76 days. With every 1 more day of time interval between TURB and reTURB, the risk of each clinical event in follow-up increased by 4%. CONCLUSIONS: There is no benefit of the reTURB performed after 8 weeks from primary TURB. Optimal timing of reTURB is from 2 to 6 weeks after initial TURB. However, even within this time frame, the sooner the procedure is performed, the risk of recurrence, progression, or cancer-specific death is lower.

Does Mantoux Test Result Predicts BCG Immunotherapy Efficiency and Severe Toxicity in Non-Muscle Invasive Bladder Cancer.

PURPOSE: To evaluate on a large group of patients whether Mantoux tuberculin skin test (TST) result is associated with BCG immunotherapy effectiveness and whether it can predict occurrence of moderate to severe toxicity. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We analysed group of 823 patients with intermediate and high risk NMIBCs who were treated with BCG. The study included 412 patients with the history TST and 411 without TST. A standard dose of Statens Serum Institute tuberculin RT23 was used. The reaction was read 48-72 hours later by evaluating the diameter of palpable induration. The size of the induration was considered positive when the measurement was greater than or equal to 6 mm and excessively positive when bigger than 26 mm. Whole BCG immunotherapy schedule consisted of 27 instillations. RESULTS: The patients were followed for median 61 months. The 5-year recurrence and progression free survival (RFS, PFS) did not differ between the groups in both total study population and in tumour subgroup analysis. TST result in both total study population and in subgroups was not statistically associated with RFS, PFS and cancer specific survival.The moderate-to-severe toxicity was observed in 181(44%) TST patients, and in 196(47%) patients without TST. Incidence of toxicity was not statistically different and also not statistically associated with TST result in any of the tumour subgroups of TST group. CONCLUSION: This study shows, that TST does not have value in prediction of bladder cancer recurrence, progres-sion nor cancer specific survival. Also it doesn't have a value in predicting therapy toxicity.