ABSTRACT Background Large language model (LLM) chatbots, a form of artificial intelligence (AI) that excels at prompt‐based interactions and mimics human conversation, have emerged as a tool for providing patients with information about urologic conditions. We aimed to examine the quality of information related to benign prostatic hyperplasia surgery from four chatbots and how they would respond to sample patient messages. Methods We identified the top three queries in Google Trends related to “treatment for enlarged prostate.” These were entered into ChatGPT (OpenAI), Bard (Google), Bing AI (Microsoft), and Doximity GPT (Doximity), both unprompted and prompted for specific criteria (optimized). The chatbot‐provided answers to each query were evaluated for overall quality by three urologists using the DISCERN instrument. Readability was measured with the built‐in Flesch–Kincaid reading level tool in Microsoft Word. To assess the ability of chatbots to answer patient questions, we prompted the chatbots with a clinical scenario related to holmium laser enucleation of the prostate, followed by 10 questions that the National Institutes of Health recommends patients ask before surgery. Accuracy and completeness of responses were graded with Likert scales. Results Without prompting, the quality of information was moderate across all chatbots but improved significantly with prompting (mean [SD], 3.3 [1.2] vs. 4.4 [0.7] out of 5; p < 0.001). When answering simulated patient messages, the chatbots were accurate (mean [SD], 5.6 [0.4] out of 6) and complete (mean [SD], 2.8 [0.3] out of 3). Additionally, 98% (39/40) had a median score of 5 or higher for accuracy, which corresponds to “nearly all correct.” The readability was poor, with a mean (SD) Flesch–Kincaid reading level grade of 12.1 (1.3) (unprompted). Conclusions LLM chatbots hold promise for patient education, but their effectiveness is limited by the need for careful prompting from the user and by responding at a reading level higher than that of most Americans (grade 8). Educating patients and physicians on optimal LLM interaction is crucial to unlock the full potential of chatbots.
A Tale of 102,726 Messages: Characterizing the Modern Urologist's Portal Message Burden After Common Urologic Surgeries
Clinical History: A 60-year-old female was found to have a 2 cm Ureteropelvic junction (UPJ) stone in an ectopic right pelvic kidney while undergoing evaluation for gross hematuria. She had no prior stone history and normal renal function. Physical Exam: Physical exam was unremarkable. Computed tomography (CT) Urogram revealed a medial, pelvic kidney with overlying bowel and posterior, tortuous ureter. Renal vein ran longitudinally along the anterior surface of the kidney. Diagnosis: A 2 cm UPJ stone in an ectopic right pelvic kidney. Intervention: Given tortuosity of the ureter and overlying bowel precluded an endoscopic approach, we proceeded with robotic-assisted pyelolithotomy. 1 An open-ended ureteral catheter was advanced to allow for distension of the renal pelvis. After placing robotic trocars, peritoneum and Gerota’s fascia were dissected off the anterior surface of the kidney. Robotic Potts were used to enter the renal pelvis. No stone was visible, thus antegrade ureteroscopy was performed through a robotic port, demonstrating an impacted 2 cm lower pole stone. We performed antegrade ureteroscopy, laser lithotripsy, and basket-extraction. A robotic suction arm was employed to remove remaining dust. A double-J ureteral stent was placed antegrade, and pyelotomy was closed in a running fashion. Follow-Up/Outcomes: The patient had an uneventful postoperative course and CT at 6 weeks demonstrated no residual stone. Laparoscopic or robotic-assisted pyelolithotomy demonstrates higher stone free rates in pelvic kidneys compared with endoscopic treatment (97.2% vs 65.9%–84.9%). 2 However, surgical approach should be decided based on patients’ anatomy, stone density and location, and surgeon experience. Author Disclosure Statement: The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose. Patient Consent Statement: Authors have received and archived patient consent for video recording/publication in advance of video recording of procedure. Music: Music was obtained from www.pixabay.com and is no copyright music, free for use. Exact Runtime of video: 5 min 00 sec.
The Impact of External Sphincter Grading after Early Apical Release Holmium Laser Enucleation of the Prostate on Postoperative Stress Urinary Incontinence
Background: Postoperative stress urinary incontinence (SUI) after Holmium Laser Enucleation of the Prostate (HoLEP) has improved with the early apical release (EAR) technique. However, some patients develop SUI despite using EAR HoLEP. The aim of this study is to investigate whether a novel classification of the external sphincter is correlated with postoperative SUI. Methods: The data of 98 patients who underwent EAR HoLEP for benign prostatic hyperplasia were prospectively analyzed. We propose a novel endoscopic classification of external sphincter appearance after HoLEP graded from 0 (best preserved) to 3 (most degraded). Patients were followed for 6 months postoperatively and administered validated questionnaires. A logistic regression was performed to compare moderate SUI rates at sphincter grade 3, controlling for age, obesity, catheter dependency, and grams resected at 6 weeks and 3 months. Results: The sphincter grades included 6 grade 0, 47 grade 1, 30 grade 2, and 15 grade 3. Patients were divided into a group without SUI ( n = 51), and a group with SUI ( n = 47) at 6 weeks postoperatively by International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire (ICIQ). Patients with reported SUI on ICIQ were more likely to have sphincter grades ≥2 at 6 weeks (p= 0.001) and 3 months ( p < 0.0001). At 6 months, persistent SUI was associated with sphincter grade 3 ( p < 0.0001). Logistic regression demonstrated that sphincter grade 3 was associated with clinically significant SUI at 3 months ( p < 0.01). Conclusions: Lower sphincter grades are associated with improved return of continence after EAR HoLEP.
Fully Automated Deep Learning Model to Detect Clinically Significant Prostate Cancer at MRI
The performance of a deep learning model was not different from that of radiologists in the detection of clinically significant prostate cancer at MRI, and gradient-weighted class activation maps localized the tumor.
High-Risk Patients Undergoing Holmium Laser Enucleation of the Prostate Have Fewer Infections with a Longer Course of Preoperative Antibiotics
Introduction: There are minimal data to guide antibiotic management of patients undergoing holmium laser enucleation of the prostate (HoLEP) for benign prostatic hyperplasia. Specifically, management of high-risk patients who are catheter dependent or have positive preoperative urine cultures varies widely. We aimed to evaluate the effect of preoperative antibiotic duration on infectious complications in high-risk patients undergoing HoLEP. Methods: A multi-institutional retrospective review of patients undergoing HoLEP between 2018 and 2023 at five institutions was performed. Patients were defined as high risk if they were catheter-dependent (indwelling urethral catheter, self-catheterization, or suprapubic tube) or had a positive preoperative urine culture. These patients were categorized into long course (>3 days) or short course (≤3 days) of preoperative antibiotics. The primary outcome was 30-day infectious complications defined as a positive urine culture with symptoms. A t -test or Wilcoxon rank-sum test was used for continuous variables and Fisher's exact test was used for categorical variables. Logistic regression analysis was conducted to identify associations with infectious complications. Results: Our cohort included 407 patients, of which 146 (36%) and 261 (64%) were categorized as short course and long course of preoperative antibiotics, respectively. Median preoperative antibiotic duration was 1 day (interquartile range [IQR]: 0, 3 days) and 7 days (IQR: 5, 7 days) in the short and long cohorts, respectively. Thirty-day postoperative infectious complications occurred in 11 (7.6%) patients who received a short course of antibiotics and 5 (1.9%) patients who received a long course of antibiotics (odds ratio 0.24, 95% confidence interval 0.07–0.67; p = 0.009). Variables such as age, positive urine culture, and postoperative antibiotic duration were not significantly associated with postoperative infection after propensity score weighting. Conclusion: In high-risk patients undergoing HoLEP, infectious complications were significantly lower with a long course vs short course of antibiotics. Further prospective trials are needed to identify optimal preoperative antibiotic regimens.
Are adverse events during surgery for benign prostatic hyperplasia device related? A review of the MAUDE database
Purpose: The Manufacturer and User Facility Device Experience database contains anonymous, voluntary medical device reports. A review of device-related adverse events associated with Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia surgeries was completed. The objective was to evaluate the occurrence and contributing factors to clinically significant complications in a cohort of patients electing to undergo surgical intervention for Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia. Methods: The Manufacturer and User Facility Device Experience database was queried for “Aquablation, Greenlight Laser, Holmium Laser, Morcellator, Water Vapor Thermal Therapy, Loop Resection, and Prostatic Urethral Lift” from 2018 through 2021. A complication classification system (Level I–IV) based on the Clavien-Dindo system was used to categorize events. These events were then correlated with procedural technology malfunctions and classified as “device related” and “non-device related.” Chi squared analysis was performed to identify associations between procedural technology and complication classification distribution. Results: A total of 873 adverse events were identified. The adverse events were classified into level I (minimal harm) versus levels II–IV (clinically significant). Aquablation ( p < 0.017) and Water Vapor Thermal Therapy ( p < 0.012) were associated with a higher proportion of reports with Level II-IV complications compared with other procedure types. Level II-IV complications were not associated with a reported device related malfunction. Conclusions: Aquablation and water vapor thermal therapy demonstrated noteworthy clinically significant complications which were not driven by device-related malfunctions.
A cost-effectiveness analysis assessing systemic treatments in metastatic castration-sensitive prostate cancer (mCSPC) by volume of disease.
93 Background: The treatment paradigm for mCSPC patients has rapidly evolved over the last few years with the emergence of triplet therapy and prognostication by volume of disease. However, the health economic implications of triplet therapy by disease volume remain unclear. Methods: A Markov model where patients transitioned between the progression-free, progression and death states was developed. State utilities were derived from the LATITUDE trial. Point probabilities for overall survival, progression-free survival, grade ≥ 3 and 5 toxicities were obtained from the eligible mCSPC phase III clinical trials. Medicare Advantage and commercial total paid amounts (2022 US$) of treatments were obtained from OptumLabs Data Warehouse. Costs and disutilities of adverse events were derived from published literature. Half-cycle corrected costs and utilities were accrued monthly over a 20-year lifetime horizon and were discounted at 3%. Monte Carlo simulation was used to calculate incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs). A willingness-to-pay (WTP) threshold of US$100,000 was used. Results: In terms of Medicare Advantage payer’s perspective (Table), docetaxel (D)+ADT was observed to provide additional 0.068 QALYs compared to ADT at an ICER of US$16,544 per QALY in high volume disease. Compared to D+ADT, abiraterone (AAP) triplet provided additional 1.03 QALYs at US$56,641 per QALY. Compared to AAP triplet, apalutamide (APA)+ADT provided additional 0.048 QALYs at US$5,846,248 per QALY in high volume disease. In low volume disease, D+ADT provided 0.45 more QALYs at US$20,690 per QALY compared to ADT alone. Compared to D+ADT, AAP triplet provided an additional 1.51 QALYS at US$44,267 per QALY. In terms of total paid commercial costs, AAP triplet provided an additional 1.19 QALYs compared to ADT at US$91,952 per QALY in high volume disease. In low volume, D+ADT provided additional 0.38 QALYs at US$22,058 per QALY compared to ADT. Compared to D+ADT, AAP triplet provided a 0.97 QALY gain at US$105,958 per QALY. Compared to AAP triplet, darolutamide (DARO) triplet provided a 0.47 QALY at US$689,196 per QALY. Compared to DARO triplet, APA+ADT provided an additional 0.49 QALYs at an ICER of US$971,389 per QALY. All other treatments (not reported here) were dominated. Conclusions: At the selected WTP of US$100,000 per QALY, AAP triplet therapy was most likely the cost-effective strategy in overall mCSPC population particularly in patients with high volume disease. However, these results should be interpreted with careful accounting for timing of metastases. [Table: see text]
First-line PARP inhibitors (PARPi) with androgen receptor pathway inhibitors (ARPi) in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC): A systematic review and meta-analysis.
173 Background: The data for combining PARPi and ARPi in mCRPC have shown conflicting results. Here, we report a quantitative summary of benefits by clinically meaningful subgroups (HRR mutation status, BRCA mutation status) to guide the use of PARPi and ARPi combination in mCRPC setting. Methods: MEDLINE, EMBASE, and CENTRAL were systematically searched from each database’s inception through September 7, 2023. Phase III studies comparing PARPi + ARPi with ARPi + placebo in mCRPC were included. Radiographic progression-free survival (rPFS) and overall survival (OS) in patient subgroups based on HRR and BRCA mutation status were assessed. Hazard ratios for rPFS and OS with 95% CI were collected at the level of each trial, and a random-effects meta-analysis was conducted using an inverse variance approach. Subgroup differences were assessed and p-value of interaction <0.1 was considered statistically significant. Results: The literature search identified 4976 studies from which 3 trials (11 references) – TALAPRO2, PROpel and MAGNITUDE met the inclusion criteria. A total of 2254 participants were eligible for analysis. PARPi + ARPi prolonged rPFS in patients with HRR mutations (HR: 0.55, 95%CI: 0.38-0.78) as well as in patients without HRR mutations (HR: 0.74, 95%CI: 0.63-0.88). There is no evidence of treatment interaction by HRR mutation status (p = 0.14). In patients harboring HRR mutations, improved rPFS was observed in those with BRCA mutations (HR: 0.28, 95%CI: 0.13-0.62) as well as those without BRCA mutations (HR: 0.72, 95%CI: 0.59-0.87). However, there is evidence that patients with BRCA mutations derived greater rPFS benefit as compared to patients without BRCA mutations (p =0.02). PARPi + ARPi showed no significant improvement in overall survival either in patients with HRR mutations (HR: 0.79, 95%CI: 0.59-1.05) or in patients without HRR mutations (HR: 0.92, 95%CI: 0.74-1.14). Conclusions: Genomic testing for HRR genes is mandatory to guide clinical decision making in mCRPC patients. Patients harboring BRCA mutations are most likely to derive clinically meaningful benefit from combination PARPi + ARPi treatment. [Table: see text]
From Consensus to Validation: A Multicenter Study for Design and Development of a Holmium Laser Enucleation of the Prostate Hydrogel Simulation Platform