Global Assessment of Urological Endoscopic Skills (GAUES):development and validation of a novel assessment tool to evaluate endourological skills

Objective: To develop and evaluate an assessment tool for endourological skills during simulation including cystoscopy, ureteroscopy (URS) and transurethral resection (TUR) procedures. Methods: We designed a Global Assessment of Urological Endoscopic Skills (GAUES) tool, comprised of nine endourology task-specific and two global-rating skills items. The tool was developed through two rounds of the Delphi process. The GAUES tool was used to assess acquisition of URS and TUR skills of novices (Year 2 core surgical trainees, CT2) and intermediate level trainees (residents at the start of the UK higher surgical training programme in Urology, Speciality Trainee Year 3, ST3) at the Urology Simulation Boot Camp (USBC) between 2016 and 2018. Validity was evaluated by comparing scores between trainees with different levels of urological experience. Inter-rater reliability was also assessed. Results: We evaluated 130 residents, 52% of trainees were at an intermediate stage of training and 39% were novices. In all, 9% of the anonymous forms were missing demographics. The completion rate of the GAUES tool during the USBC for URS and TUR was 85% and 89%, respectively. Our analysis demonstrated a significant difference in all domains between intermediates and novices at assessment in URS, except for one domain more suited to clinical assessment (P\ua0=\ua00.226). There was excellent intraclass correlation (ICC) overall between the two experts’ judgements, ICC\ua0=\ua00.841 (95% confidence interval 0.767–0.893; P\ua

Colo-Pro: a pilot randomised controlled trial to compare standard bolus-dosed cefuroxime prophylaxis to bolus-continuous infusion–dosed cefuroxime prophylaxis for the prevention of infections after colorectal surgery

Standard bolus-dosed antibiotic prophylaxis may not inhibit growth of antibiotic resistant colonic bacteria, a cause of SSIs after colorectal surgery. An alternative strategy is continuous administration of antibiotic throughout surgery, maintaining concentrations of antibiotics that inhibit growth of resistant bacteria. This study is a pilot comparing bolus-continuous infusion with bolus-dosed cefuroxime prophylaxis in colorectal surgery. This is a pilot randomised controlled trial in which participants received cefuroxime bolus-infusion (intervention arm) targeting free serum cefuroxime concentrations of 64 mg/L, or 1.5 g cefuroxime as a bolus dose four-hourly (standard arm). Patients in both arms received metronidazole (500 mg intravenously). Eligible participants were adults undergoing colorectal surgery expected to last for over 2 h. Results were analysed on an intention-to-treat basis. The study was successfully piloted, with 46% (90/196) of eligible patients recruited and 89% (80/90) of participants completing all components of the protocol. A trialled bolus-continuous dosing regimen was successful in maintaining free serum cefuroxime concentrations of 64 mg/L. No serious adverse reactions were identified. Rates of SSIs (superficial and deep SSIs) were lower in the intervention arm than the standard treatment arm (24% (10/42) vs. 30% (13/43)), as were infection within 30 days of operation (41% (17/43) vs 51% (22/43)) and urinary tract infections (2% (1/42) vs. 9% (4/43)). These infection rates can be used to power future clinical trials. This study demonstrates the feasibility of cefuroxime bolus-continuous infusion of antibiotic prophylaxis trials, and provides safety data for infusions targeting free serum cefuroxime concentrations of 64 mg/L. Trial registration: NCT02445859

Design, implementation, and evaluation of a novel curriculum to teach transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP):a 3-year experience of urology simulation bootcamp course

OBJECTIVES To present the three-year experience of the multi-component TURP module at Urology Simulation Bootcamp Course (USBC) and demonstrate trainee's competence progression and satisfaction. METHODS During the USBC, a 4-h TURP module was developed and consisted of (a) familiarisation and assembly of resectoscope instrument, (b) didactic lecture on TURP operative techniques and postoperative complications, (c) learning hands-on resection on validated simulators [Samed, GmBH, Dresden, Germany; TURP Mentor™, Simbionix, Israel], and (d) practicing clot evacuation using the Ellik bladder Evacuator. Trainee's level of instrument knowledge, operative competence, and confidence were assessed pre- and post-course. Trainee's feedback was also collected. RESULTS One hundred thirty trainees participated in the USBC between 2016 and 2018. Eighty-seven percent of trainees scored themselves as 1-3 (low confidence in resection) on a 5-point Likert scale. Trainees significantly improved in their ability to perform resectoscope assembly for resection, coagulation and incision by 33.6% (p < 0.001), 28.1% (p < 0.001) and 34.0% (p < 0.001), respectively. There was a significant improvement in scores in itemised technical skill on the TURP simulator following completion of the TURP module (Mean difference = 3.4 points, 95% CI 2-4, p < 0.001). Ninety-one percent of trainees agreed that the TURP module was useful for their development in urological training. CONCLUSION Our results demonstrated that it is feasible to develop and implement a focussed module for teaching TURP with significant improvement in learning. Trainee feedback suggests that they were highly satisfied with the teaching provided and models used. This style of training can be implemented for other common surgical procedures

A Method to Evaluate Trainee Progression During Simulation Training at the Urology Simulation Boot Camp (USBC) Course

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate skills progression at the Urology Simulation Boot Camp (USBC), a course intended to provide urology trainees with 32 hours of 1:1 training on low and high-fidelity simulators.DESIGN: In this single-group cohort study, trainees rotated through modules based on aspects of the United Kingdom urology residency curriculum and undertook a pre and postcourse MCQ. Specific procedural skill was evaluated by an expert and graded as either: "A"-Good (≥4 on a 5-point Likert Scale) or "B"-Poor (Likert scale of 1-3). Competence progression was calculated as the change in score between baseline and final assessments.SETTING: The USBC was held at St James' University Hospital, Leeds, U.K.PARTICIPANTS: Of the 34 trainees attended the second USBC, 33 trainees participated in all the pre and postcourse assessments. The mean duration of urology training prior to undertaking the USBC was 15 months.RESULTS: Competence progression was assessed in 33 urology trainees. Mean MCQ scores improved by 16.7% (p &lt; 0.001) between pre and postcourse assessment. At final assessment, 87.9% of trainees scored "A" in instrument knowledge and assembly compared to 44.4% at baseline (p &lt; 0.001). There was a mean improvement of 439s (p &lt; 0.001) in the time taken to complete the European-Basic Laparoscopic skills assessment.CONCLUSIONS: The USBC has shown to aid trainees in competence progression during the simulation on a variety of urological skills; however, retention of skill in the long-term was undetermined. The use of our grading system is simple to understand and may be used in other simulation courses to guide participants with their future training needs.</p

Colo-Pro: a pilot randomised controlled trial to compare standard bolus-dosed cefuroxime prophylaxis to bolus-continuous infusion–dosed cefuroxime prophylaxis for the prevention of infections after colorectal surgery

Standard bolus-dosed antibiotic prophylaxis may not inhibit growth of antibiotic resistant colonic bacteria, a cause of SSIs after colorectal surgery. An alternative strategy is continuous administration of antibiotic throughout surgery, maintaining concentrations of antibiotics that inhibit growth of resistant bacteria. This study is a pilot comparing bolus-continuous infusion with bolus-dosed cefuroxime prophylaxis in colorectal surgery. This is a pilot randomised controlled trial in which participants received cefuroxime bolus-infusion (intervention arm) targeting free serum cefuroxime concentrations of 64 mg/L, or 1.5 g cefuroxime as a bolus dose four-hourly (standard arm). Patients in both arms received metronidazole (500 mg intravenously). Eligible participants were adults undergoing colorectal surgery expected to last for over 2 h. Results were analysed on an intention-to-treat basis. The study was successfully piloted, with 46% (90/196) of eligible patients recruited and 89% (80/90) of participants completing all components of the protocol. A trialled bolus-continuous dosing regimen was successful in maintaining free serum cefuroxime concentrations of 64 mg/L. No serious adverse reactions were identified. Rates of SSIs (superficial and deep SSIs) were lower in the intervention arm than the standard treatment arm (24% (10/42) vs. 30% (13/43)), as were infection within 30 days of operation (41% (17/43) vs 51% (22/43)) and urinary tract infections (2% (1/42) vs. 9% (4/43)). These infection rates can be used to power future clinical trials. This study demonstrates the feasibility of cefuroxime bolus-continuous infusion of antibiotic prophylaxis trials, and provides safety data for infusions targeting free serum cefuroxime concentrations of 64 mg/L. Trial registration: NCT02445859

Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Minimally Invasive Procedures for Surgical Inguinal Nodal Staging in Penile Carcinoma

CONTEXT: There are several procedures for surgical nodal staging in clinically node-negative (cN0) penile carcinoma.OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the diagnostic accuracy, perioperative outcomes, and complications of minimally invasive surgical procedures for nodal staging in penile carcinoma.EVIDENCE ACQUISITION: A systematic review of the Medline, Embase, and Cochrane controlled trials databases and ClinicalTrials.gov was conducted. Published and ongoing studies reporting on the management of cN0 penile cancer were included without any design restriction. Outcomes included the false negative (FN) rate, the number of nodes removed, surgical time, and postoperative complications.EVIDENCE SYNTHESIS: Forty-one studies were eligible for inclusion. Four studies comparing robot-assisted (RA-VEIL) and video-endoscopic inguinal lymphadenectomy (VEIL) to open inguinal lymph node dissection (ILND) were suitable for meta-analysis. A descriptive synthesis was performed for single-arm studies on modified open ILND, dynamic sentinel node biopsy (DSNB) with and without preoperative inguinal ultrasound (US), and fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNAC). DSNB with US + FNAC had lower FN rates (3.5-22% vs 0-42.9%) and complication rates (Clavien Dindo grade I-II: 1.1-20% vs 2.9-11.9%; grade III-V: 0-6.8% vs 0-9.4%) in comparison to DSNB alone. Favourable results were observed for VEIL/RA-VEIL over open ILND in terms of major complications (2-10.6% vs 6.9-40.6%; odds ratio [OR] 0.18; p &lt; 0.01). Overall, VEIL/RA-VEIL had lower wound-related complication rates (OR 0.14; p &lt; 0.01), including wound infections (OR 0.229; p &lt; 0.01) and skin necrosis (OR 0.16; p &lt; 0.01). The incidence of lymphatic complications varied between 20.6% and 49%.CONCLUSIONS: Of all the surgical staging options, DSNB with inguinal US + FNAC had the lowest complication rates and high diagnostic accuracy, especially when performed in high-volume centres. If DSNB is not available, favourable results were also found for VEIL/RA-VEIL over open ILND. Lymphatic-related complications were comparable across open and video-endoscopic ILND.PATIENT SUMMARY: We reviewed studies on different surgical approaches for assessing lymph node involvement in cases with penile cancer. The results show that a technique called dynamic sentinel node biopsy with ultrasound guidance and fine-needle sampling has high diagnostic accuracy and low complication rates. For lymph node dissection in penile cancer cases, a minimally invasive approach may offer favourable postoperative outcomes.</p

A Systematic Review of the Impact of Surgeon and Hospital Caseload Volume on Oncological and Nononcological Outcomes After Radical Prostatectomy for Nonmetastatic Prostate Cancer

Context: The impact of surgeon and hospital volume on outcomes after radical prostatectomy (RP) for localised prostate cancer (PCa) remains unknown. Objective: To perform a systematic review on the association between surgeon or hospital volume and oncological and nononcological outcomes following RP for PCa. Evidence acquisition: Medline, Medline In-Process, Embase, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials were searched. All comparative studies for nonmetastatic PCa patients treated with RP published between January 1990 and May 2020 were included. For inclusion, studies had to compare hospital or surgeon volume, defined as caseload per unit time. Main outcomes included oncological (including prostate-specific antigen persistence, positive surgical margin [PSM], biochemical recurrence, local and distant recurrence, and cancer-specific and overall survival) and nononcological (perioperative complications including need for blood transfusion, conversion to open procedure and within 90-d death, and continence and erectile function) outcomes. Risk of bias (RoB) and confounding assessments were undertaken. Both a narrative and a quantitative synthesis were planned if the data allowed. Evidence synthesis: Sixty retrospective comparative studies were included. Generally, increasing surgeon and hospital volumes were associated with lower rates of mortality, PSM, adjuvant or salvage therapies, and perioperative complications. Combining group size cut-offs as used in the included studies, the median threshold for hospital volume at which outcomes start to diverge is 86 (interquartile range [IQR] 35–100) cases per year. In addition, above this threshold, the higher the caseload, the better the outcomes, especially for PSM. RoB and confounding were high for most domains. Conclusions: Higher surgeon and hospital volumes for RP are associated with lower rates of PSMs, adjuvant or salvage therapies, and perioperative complications. This association becomes apparent from a caseload of >86 (IQR 35–100) per year and may further improve hereafter. Both high- and low-volume centres should measure their outcomes, make them publicly available, and improve their quality of care if needed. Patient summary: We reviewed the literature to determine whether the number of prostate cancer operations (radical prostatectomy) performed in a hospital affects the outcomes of surgery. We found that, overall, hospitals with a higher number of operations per year have better outcomes in terms of cancer recurrence and complications during or after hospitalisation. However, it must be noted that surgeons working in hospitals with lower annual operations can still achieve similar or even better outcomes. Therefore, making hospital's outcome data publicly available should be promoted internationally, so that patients can make an informed decision where they want to be treated