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Visitors to Chicago will have little trouble finding a good place toeat. In fact, AUA meeting attendees may face a problem choosing from somany excellent options. Home to thousands of restaurants, Chicago boastsmany award-winning dining spots offering the talents of world-renowned chefsand a range of cuisines to fit every ethnic taste.

Chicago, site of AUA's 2003 annual meeting, offers attendees and theirguests an almost endless assortment of cultural, entertainment, shopping,dining, and recreational activities to occupy their free time. Visitorsbenefit from the large range of choices found only in a big city but willfeel welcome wherever they go, thanks to Chicago's brand of Midwestern friendliness.

Toronto-Both tension-free vaginal tape and the laparoscopic Burch procedurehave their benefits and drawbacks when used as a first-line treatment forfemale stress incontinence. Experts from the University of Toronto debatedthe merits of these two approaches at the Women's Pelvic Health Update,a meeting of the Sunnybrook and Women's College Health Sciences Center inToronto.

New codes established for catheterization and bladder ultrasound forresidual urine

Copenhagen, Denmark-An oral antidiuretic approved for the treatment ofnocturnal enuresis also appears to be effective for treating nocturia inadult men and women, according to phase III clinical trial results reportedby the multinational Nocturia Study Group.

Albuquerque, NM-A recent study by University of New Mexico psychiatristsconfirms what many urologists have observed clinically-that treatment witha PDE-5 inhibitor is effective in men with erectile dysfunction attributableto certain antidepressant medications. The research suggests that effectivetreatment of ED in men with "antidepressant-associated sexual dysfunction"-aparticularly common side effect of serotonin reuptake inhibitors-may improvetheir compliance with these agents.

Boston-Bladder pressure at the onset of reflux may better predictthe spontaneous resolution of vesicoureteral reflux than the grade of reflux,according to researchers at the University of Iowa, Iowa City.

Boston-An injectable tissue-augmenting material is a promising alternativefor the endoscopic treatment of vesicoureteral reflux in children, accordingto researchers from Dublin, Ireland. At follow-up of up to 1 year, refluxwas corrected in 86% of ureters after a single injection of the material,dextranomer/hyaluronic acid copolymer (Deflux, Q-Med, Uppsala, Sweden),according to lead author Prem Puri, MD, pediatric surgeon and director ofresearch at the National Children Hospital in Dublin.

Baltimore-A joint AUA-American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons expert panel has issued guidelines for antibiotic prophylaxis in patients with total joint replacements who may face subsequent invasive urologic procedures.

Washington-The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has dropped its appeal of a recent U.S. District Court ruling that lithotripsy should not be encompassed within the Stark II ban on physician self-referrals. With the withdrawal, the court's decision on the matter is final, according to the attorney representing the American Lithotripsy Society (ALS) and Urology Society of America (USA).

No area of medicine has been the subject of more hype, misinformation, and confusion than developing web sites for physician practices. Hundreds and perhaps thousands of our urologic colleagues have created web sites only to be left with a bad taste about the time, money, and effort spent on a medium that does not appear to generate more patients or improve practice efficiency.

The predictable recurrence of superficial transitional cell carcinoma of the urinary bladder is responsible for the frequent utilization of intravesical therapy. In the past 2 years, we have changed our intravesical treatment strategy at Ohio State University in an effort to enhance efficacy and reduce patient inconvenience.

Boston-Pregnant mice exposed to synthetic estrogens resulted in shorter urethras and disrupted urethral seam closures in their offspring, according to researchers from the University of California, San Francisco. They say their research supports previous cause-and-effect data regarding endocrine disruptors and genital tubercle anomalies.

Las Vegas--Most older women who want to restore continence withoutresorting to surgery are satisfied with the results of collagen injections,according to Loma Linda Medical Center researchers.

Las Vegas--A single application of cooled transurethral microwavetherapy led to clinically and statistically significant symptom improvementin a pilot study involving patients with intractable chronic prostatitis,accompanied by BPH in some cases.

Failure to account for payroll taxes will result in various penaltiesOne of the proposals the Republican-led 108th Congress is studying tostimulate the economy is a month-long "holiday" on payroll taxes.This holiday-or even another proposal for a payroll tax moratorium for 1year on an employee's first $10,000 of income-may or may not help increaseproductivity or improve the moribund U.S. economy. The proposals have, however,focused attention on the complex payroll withholding system that many urologistsmust deal with.

Use this framework to facilitate complex decisions for treatment anddisease managementMedicine is both an art and a science. One hundred years ago, physiciansplaced more emphasis on the art than on the science, as documented studiessupporting the scientific basis for therapeutic decisions were few and farbetween. Since the 1990s, a plethora of information has become availableon studies, research, and scientific investigation on the treatment of disease,outcomes, and management of entire patient populations.

Somerville, NJ-Ethicon Products, a division of Ethicon, Inc., has received FDA approval to market the Vicryl Plus Antibacterial Suture, which uses an antibacterial agent designed to reduce bacterial colonization on the suture. The antibacterial agent, triclosan (Irgacare MP), is known to be effective against Staphylococcus aureus, S epidermidis, and methicillin-resistant strains of Staphylococcus.

Nephron-sparing surgery (NSS) was initially developed as a mechanism to preserve renal function in patients at risk of requiring dialysis in the face of total nephrectomy. Indications included tumors in patients with a solitary kidney, multifocal disease, or chronic renal insufficiency.

Baltimore-For patients with total PSA levels in the range of 2.5 to 4.0 ng/mL, measuring the proportion of precursor forms of PSA (pPSA) relative to free PSA (fPSA) may significantly lower the number of unnecessary biopsies compared with measuring percent-free PSA (%fPSA) alone, a new study suggests.

Italy-Encrustation of urinary tract biomaterial remains a challenging problem for urologists. Devices such as urinary stents and catheters invariably become encrusted with calcium oxalate after long-term placement and are difficult to later remove.

Genoa, Italy-Hand-assisted laparoscopic nephrectomy appears to be safe and feasible for treating large renal tumors, report researchers from the University of Miami, FL. Separately, researchers from Thomas Jefferson University say the hand-assisted approach is possible in patients with renal cell carcinoma with tumor thrombus.

New York-Adding high-dose vitamin D to docetaxel (Taxotere) in regimens for androgen-independent prostate cancer patients doubles the effectiveness of docetaxel as a single agent, according to results of a nonrandomized study from Oregon Health Sciences University, Portland.

Genoa, Italy-The use of alcohol ablation of the prostate to treat patients with symptomatic bladder outlet obstruction secondary to BPH yielded promising results in a number of studies presented at the World Congress on Endourology here. Researchers reported on the use of two forms of alcohol ablation-one using an anhydrous alcohol solution and one using a viscous gel. Both technologies are considered investigative.

Q How do I charge for a bladder scan for residual urine using thenew 2003 CPT code (51798 ) if I am using an "imaging" ultrasound?

San Antonio-Complete removal of all components of an inflatable penileprosthesis offers the best strategy for avoiding potentially serious complicationsin rare instances of prosthesis failure, suggest results from a small seriesfrom the University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio.Erosion of a retained reservoir into the bladder subsequently led to

Paris-The International Consultation on Prostate Cancer recommends thatmen with a history of prostate cancer not be given testosterone supplementationunder any circumstance. The recommendation was the subject of lively debateat the consultation's 2002 meeting here, and some members of the audienceposed cases in which they thought hormone replacement might be appropriate.

Chicago--The American Medical Association has taken a step toward reversing a 2-decades-old policy on the national physician workforce. Since the 1980s, the organization has maintained that the country was threatened with an oversupply of doctors.

Scranton, PA-Calling the medical liability insurance crisis a"national problem that needs a national solution," President Bushrenewed his support for federal reform that would include a cap on non-economicdamages awarded to injured patients. Meanwhile, urologists and other physiciansthroughout Pennsylvania, the site of Bush's speech, canceled plans to shuttertheir practices after the governor revealed short-term measures aimed atalleviating the crisis.

Fee schedule will apply endoscopic reduction rules to cystoscopy andother CPT codes