4-Ports endoscopic extraperitoneal radical prostatectomy: preliminary and learning curve results

ABSTRACT Introduction There is a lack of studies in our national scenario regarding the results obtained by laparoscopic radical prostatectomy technique (LRP). Except for a few series, there are no consistent data on oncological, functional, and perioperative results on LRP held in Brazil. As for the LRP technique performed by extraperitoneal access (ELRP), when performed by a single surgeon, the results are even scarcer. Objective To analyze the early perioperative and oncologic results obtained with the ELRP, throughout the technical evolution of a single surgeon. Patients and methods A non-randomized retrospective study was held in a Brazilian hospital of reference. In the 5-year period, 115 patients underwent the ELRP procedure. Patients were divided into two groups, the first 57 cases (Group 1) and the following 58 cases, (Group 2). A comparative analysis between the groups of efficacy results and ELRP safety was carried out. Results The average age of patients was 62.8 year-old and the PSA of 6.9ng/dl. The total surgery time was 135.8 minutes on average, and the urethral-bladder anastomosis was 21.9 min (23.3 min versus 20.7 min). The positive surgical margins (PSM) rate was 17.1%, showing no difference between groups (16.4% versus 17.9%; p=0.835). There was statistical difference between the groups in relation to the anastomosis time, estimated blood loss and the withdrawal time of the urinary catheter. Conclusion The ELRP technique proved to be a safe and effective procedure in the treatment of prostate cancer, with low morbidity

NEOTROPICAL CARNIVORES: a data set on carnivore distribution in the Neotropics

Mammalian carnivores are considered a key group in maintaining ecological health and can indicate potential ecological integrity in landscapes where they occur. Carnivores also hold high conservation value and their habitat requirements can guide management and conservation plans. The order Carnivora has 84 species from 8 families in the Neotropical region: Canidae; Felidae; Mephitidae; Mustelidae; Otariidae; Phocidae; Procyonidae; and Ursidae. Herein, we include published and unpublished data on native terrestrial Neotropical carnivores (Canidae; Felidae; Mephitidae; Mustelidae; Procyonidae; and Ursidae). NEOTROPICAL CARNIVORES is a publicly available data set that includes 99,605 data entries from 35,511 unique georeferenced coordinates. Detection/non-detection and quantitative data were obtained from 1818 to 2018 by researchers, governmental agencies, non-governmental organizations, and private consultants. Data were collected using several methods including camera trapping, museum collections, roadkill, line transect, and opportunistic records. Literature (peer-reviewed and grey literature) from Portuguese, Spanish and English were incorporated in this compilation. Most of the data set consists of detection data entries (n = 79,343; 79.7%) but also includes non-detection data (n = 20,262; 20.3%). Of those, 43.3% also include count data (n = 43,151). The information available in NEOTROPICAL CARNIVORES will contribute to macroecological, ecological, and conservation questions in multiple spatio-temporal perspectives. As carnivores play key roles in trophic interactions, a better understanding of their distribution and habitat requirements are essential to establish conservation management plans and safeguard the future ecological health of Neotropical ecosystems. Our data paper, combined with other large-scale data sets, has great potential to clarify species distribution and related ecological processes within the Neotropics. There are no copyright restrictions and no restriction for using data from this data paper, as long as the data paper is cited as the source of the information used. We also request that users inform us of how they intend to use the data