Objective: To investigate the effects of flexible ureteroscopy (F-URS) on the operated side of a kidney by assessing the renal damage markers, urine neutrophil gelatinase-related lipocalin (NGAL) and serum cystatin-C (Cys-C), and overall kidney function with the measurements of standard serum creatinine and urine albumin and protein levels. Material and methods: A total of 30 patients who underwent F-URS for treatment of upper urinary stone disease were prospectively evaluated. Preoperative serum urea, creatinine, and Cys-C levels were noted. Levels of urine albumin, protein, creatinine, and NGAL in spot urine samples from the operated side of a kidney obtained through the access sheath preoperatively and through the ureteral catheter 1 and 24 hours postoperatively were also measured. Preoperative and postoperative parameter levels were statistically compared. Results: The patients’ mean age was 46.6±15.9 years. The mean operative and fluoroscopy times were 90.67±32.5 and 3.15±1.43 minutes, respectively. The urine creatinine, albumin, protein, albumin/creatinine, and protein/creatinine levels were similar in preoperative and postoperative periods. Postoperative serum urea, creatinine, and Cys-C levels and urine NGAL and NGAL/creatinine levels were not also found with remarkable changes from the baseline levels. Conclusion: F-URS is a safe therapeutic intervention in the treatment of urolithiasis, especially regarding renal damage, and functional outcomes. Cite this article as: Ertaş K, Temiz MZ, Çolakerol A, Küçük SH, Şahan A, Yürük E. Effects of flexible ureteroscopy on kidney: A prospective clinical trial. Turk J Urol 2020; 46(4): 297-302.

(1) Background: Standard semen analysis methods may exhibit variability between observers and/or human error; therefore, additional methods are needed to overcome these handicaps. We aimed to present a new smartphone-applied semen analyzer, Sperm Cell™, investigate its diagnostic efficacy by comparing it with the standard analysis method, and determine its user-friendly nature. (2) Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on a large sample cohort, including 102 men. Three semen analyses were performed for each semen sample. The first employed the standard manual method, whereas the others were smartphone-based analyses performed by technicians and patients. We compared major semen parameters between the three semen analyses. The user-friendly nature of the analyzer was also evaluated with a mini-questionnaire completed by the participants. (3) Results: The determined median sperm count, motile sperm count, and percentage of motile sperms, on standard manual semen analysis, were 50.00 × 10⁶/mL (0–160 × 10⁶/mL), 23.94 × 10⁶/mL (0–108 × 10⁶/mL) and 50.00% (0–73.00%), respectively. Median sperm count and motile sperm count were 50.52 × 10⁶/mL (<1–150 × 10⁶/mL) vs. 55.77 × 10⁶/mL ( 0.05 for each). The SpermCell™ analysis results were correlated with the standard manual method with up to 0.85 correlation coefficients. Moreover, substantial diagnostic accuracy, sensitivity and specificity were obtained in determining the oligospermia and asthenozoospermia via the device-based analyses performed by technician and patients. The mini-questionnaire results revealed that the analyzer is useful. (4) Conclusions: The novel smartphone-applied semen analyzer is a helpful tool with acceptable diagnostic accuracy in determining the major semen parameters. It can be used as an efficient at-home point-of-care testing method in the initial assessment of couples with infertility concerns.

J Indian Prosthodont Soc, Official publication of Indian Prosthodontic Society

Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) accounts for about 3% of adult cancers. RCC is the third most common cancer among the urogenital cancers, clear-cell RCC being the most common histological subtype. Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) are the most common mesenchymal tumors of the gastrointestinal tract and are derived from interstitial Cajal cells (ICCs). The ICCs in the urinary system were first shown in 2003 in a study by Solari et al. However, there is no publication of a GIST of renal origin yet. Here we report a case of renal GIST that has not previously been published in the literature.