Letters to the Editor

Letters to the Editor are no longer included in the main BJUI journal, but we will continue to publish them on the BJUI website as an important part of the scientific debate.

Letters Policy

  • Letters to the editor will now published in electronic form on the journal website (www.bjuinternational.com), not in the journal itself. As such, letters are not submitted to PubMed for indexing.
  • Letters to the editor should be 500 words or less, preference is given to concise letters.
  • Writers are limited to one letter published on the website per month.
  • Letters must include full author contact details.
  • All letters will be peer-reviewed, and we reserve the right to reject letters, or to edit them if they are accepted.
  • If accepted, letters are sent to the authors of the paper being discussed, to give them the chance to make a response that will (if accepted) be published at the same time as the letter.
  • Letters will not be open for public comment; replies must be submitted by email to the Editorial Office for review.

Rights for men! PSA testing

Sir, I am writing this from a trainee viewpoint. I was delighted to read your article on rights regarding PSA testing in February [1]. I know it’s not February or Valentine’s Day now, but men’s rights regarding PSA testing is a central issue. When compared to breast cancer, and women’s rights, men’s rights regarding PSA testing are lagging behind. At a patient conference, prostate cancer survivors made comments on problems getting their PSA levels tested before being diagnosed…

Evolution of surgical training methods: the new class

Sir, I am writing this from a trainee viewpoint. I was delighted to read the articles by Khan et al. [1] and Elsamra et al. [2]. Both articles highlight how much the role of the surgical trainee has changed in this day and age. Surgery has always been about precision, control and patient safety. It was interesting to note, with a new generation of trainees, the requirement for immediate information is there. Knowledge is very literally at our fingertips. Making use of modern web-based tools,…

Re: Measuring the surgical ‘learning curve’: methods, variables and competency

Sir, Khan et al. [1] present a new review of the use of learning curves (LCs) in clinical practice. It is enlightening to see how many confounding factors are involved when constructing a LC. Could LCs eventually provide a supplement to or even replace indicative numbers charting the progress of surgical trainees? When considering using a LC to demonstrate competence in surgical training, the many measurable factors associated with skill acquisition are different for different procedures, as…

New evidence for the relationship between PSA value and BMI in diagnosing prostate cancer: obesity should be reckoned

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Sir, We read with great interest the paper by Oh et al. [1] and the paper by Pater et al. [2]. Their study confirmed the previously reported inverse relationship between prostate-specific antigen (PSA) value and body mass index (BMI). Indeed, they indicated a decrease in PSA for an increasing BMI with a 0.026 decrease in PSA for every unit increase in BMI. To date, the detection of prostate cancer (PCa) has become more common since the introduction of PSA, but overall mortality remains high with…

Re: The Protective Role of Coenzyme Q10 in Renal Injury Associated with Extracorporeal Shock Wave Lithotripsy: a Randomized, Placebo Controlled Clinical Trial

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Sir, We read the article by Carrasco et al. [1] with interest. The study is worth attention as it relates to short-term CoQ10 use to prevent renal damage caused by SWL. However, some conflicting points and omissions occur. In addition, it would have been more ethically appropriate to conduct an animal study. There are studies on the use and effectiveness of CoQ10 in renal diseases. Ishikawa et al., [2] Gokbel et al., [3] Sourris et al., [4] Sato et al. [5] and El-Sheikh et al. [6] state…
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