Dehydration before Major Urological Surgery and the Perioperative Pattern of Plasma Creatinine: A Prospective Cohort Series

Preoperative dehydration is usually found in 30–50% of surgical patients, but the incidence is unknown in the urologic population. We determined the prevalence of preoperative dehydration in major elective urological surgery and studied its association with postoperative outcome, with special attention to plasma creatinine changes. We recruited 187 patients scheduled for major abdominal urological surgery to participate in a single-center study that used the fluid retention index (FRI), which is a composite index of four urinary biomarkers that correlate with renal water conservation, to assess the presence of dehydration. Secondary outcomes were postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV), return of gastrointestinal function, in-hospital complications, quality of recovery, and plasma creatinine. The proportion of dehydrated patients at surgery was 20.4%. Dehydration did not correlate with quality of recovery, PONV, or other complications, but dehydrated patients showed later defecation (p = 0.02) and significant elevations of plasma creatinine after surgery. The elevations were also greater when plasma creatinine had increased rather than decreased during the 24 h prior to surgery (p < 0.001). Overall, the increase in plasma creatinine at 6 h after surgery correlated well with elevations on postoperative days one and two. In conclusion, we found preoperative dehydration in one-fifth of the patients. Dehydration was associated with delayed defecation and elevated postoperative plasma creatinine. The preoperative plasma creatinine pattern could independently forecast more pronounced increases during the early postoperative period.

A Review of High-Intensity Focused Ultrasound in Urology

This review provides an introduction to high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) and reviews its historical and current use in urological surgery. Current and historical literature (1927–2020), including that describing trials and review articles in the medical and ultrasonic literature, has been reviewed, using Pub Med and Cochrane search engines. HIFU is currently one of a number of treatments for prostate cancer, both as a primary treatment that can be repeated, and as a salvage treatment post-radiotherapy. HIFU is not yet sufficiently mature to be a standard treatment for renal cancer or other urological diseases, although there has been some success in early clinical trials. As the technology improves, this situation is likely to change. HIFU has been understood as a concept for a century, and has been applied in experimental use for half that time. It is now an accepted treatment with low morbidity in many diseases outside the scope of this review. In urological surgery, prostate HIFU is accepted as a localised treatment in selected cases, with potentially fewer side effects than other localised therapies. Currently the treatment for renal cancer is hindered by the perinephric fat and the position of the kidneys behind the ribs; however, as the technology improves with image fusion, faster treatments, and the ability with phased array transducers and motion compensation to overcome the problems caused by the ribs and breathing, successful treatment of kidney tumours will become more of a reality. In due course, there will be a new generation of machines for treating prostate cancer. These devices will further minimise the side effects of radical treatment of prostate cancer.

Utility of total cell-free DNA levels for surgical damage evaluation in patients with urological surgeries

The evaluation of surgical damage is challenging because of the lack of specific biomarkers. Total cell-free DNA (cfDNA) levels have been reported to increase with external trauma and may be a biomarker for tissue damage. To investigate the utility of perioperative total cfDNA levels in evaluating surgical damage in urological surgeries. This multicenter, prospective, observational study included 196 patients scheduled for urological surgeries between September 2020 and July 2021. The primary outcome was the change in total cfDNA levels before and after urological surgery. The secondary outcome was the effect of surgical type on total cfDNA ratio before and after urological surgery. The postoperative median total cfDNA level of the 196 patients was significantly increased 2.5-fold compared to the preoperative level (185.2 ng/mL vs. 406.7 ng/mL, P < 0.001). The median total cfDNA before/after ratio was greater than four-fold for kidney transplantation, open cystectomy, and open adrenalectomy. The ratio was less than two-fold for laparoscopic adrenalectomy and robot-assisted radical prostatectomy. Major surgery showed a significant postoperative increase in total cfDNA levels, while minor surgery did not. Total cfDNA levels increased 2.5-fold after urological surgery and it can be used as an acute-phase biomarker for surgical damage.

Urological surgery

This chapter discusses the anaesthetic management of urological surgery. Surgical procedures covered include cystoscopic procedures; transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP) (including TURP syndrome); transurethral resection of bladder tumour (TURBT); prostatectomy (including radical prostatectomy); nephrectomy and partial nephrectomy; radical cystectomy; robot-assisted laparoscopic prostatectomy (RALP); percutaneous stone removal; extracorporeal shockwave lithotripsy, testicular surgery and renal transplantation. It includes pertinent anaesthetic features for a series of additional miscellaneous urological procedures.