Reliability and accuracy of varicocele videos in YouTube

Objectives: To evaluate the scientific impact of videos about varicocele on YouTube. Method: A cross-sectional study was conducted at Turkey in September 2020, and comprised YouTube videos related to varicocele. The videos were divided into 2 groups according to their reliability and accuracy using the European Association of Urology Sexual and Reproductive Guidelines 2020. A 5-point modified reliability (DISCERN) tool, Global Quality Score, and Journal of the American Medical Association scores of each video were calculated. The user’s engagements by total views, video-related comments, and “likes” and “dislikes” to the videos were compared. Data was analysed using SPSS 23. Results: Of the 151 videos assessed, 73(48.34%) were included; 36(49.3%) reliable and 37(50.7%) unreliable. All scores were significantly higher for reliable videos (p<0.05). The mean number of views was 108448±90567 for reliable and 392626±895897 for unreliable videos (p=0.044). The rates of “likes” and “dislikes” were similar between the groups, whereas the comment rate was significantly higher for reliable videos (p<0.05).  Most of the videos 40(54.8%) were uploaded by medical advertisements or for-profit companies, while those uploaded by universities or professional organisations were 19(26%). Conclusion: Nearly half of the varicocele-related videos on YouTube were unreliable, and the reliability of videos was not directly related to their popularity. Key Words: Social media, Ethics, Misinformation, Varicocele, Internet

The effect of optical dilatation before retrograde intrarenal surgery on success and complications: Results of the RIRSearch group study

Aim The guidelines propose optical dilatation before retrograde intrarenal surgery (RIRS), but there are currently no evidence-based studies concerning the impact of optical dilatation with semirigid ureteroscopy (sURS). The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of optical dilatation through sURS prior to the RIRS procedure on the success and complications of RIRS

External validation of Modified Seoul National University Renal Stone Complexity Score to predict outcome and complications of retrograde intrarenal surgery: a RIRSearch Group study

Introduction The Modified Seoul National University Renal Stone Complexity Score (S-ReSC) is a simple model based solely on stone location regardless of stone burden. The aims of this study were to validate S-ReSC for outcomes and complications of retrograde intrarenal surgery (RIRS) and to evaluate its predictive power against the stone burden. Material and methods Data of 1007 patients with kidney stones who had undergone RIRS were collected from our RIRSearch database. Linear-by-linear association, logistic regression, ANOVA/post hoc analysis and ROC curve (with Hanley and McNeil's test) were used for evaluation. The main outcomes were stone-free status and complications of RIRS. Results The overall stone-free rate was 76.8% (773/1007). Higher S-ReSC scores were related to lower stone-free rates and higher total, perioperative and postoperative complication rates (p<.001, p<.001, p=.008 and p<.001, respectively). S-ReSC score (p=.02) and stone burden (p<.001) were independent predictors of stone-free status. But stone burden (AUC = 0.718) had a more powerful discriminating ability than the S-ReSC score (AUC = 0.618). Conclusions The S-ReSC score is able to predict not only stone-free status but also complications of RIRS. Although this location-only based scoring system has a fair discriminative ability, stone burden is a more powerful predictor of stone-free status after RIRS. An ideal scoring system aiming to predict outcomes of RIRS must include stone burden as a parameter