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EDITORIAL
1
© The Canadian Journal of Urology™; 18(Supplement 1); April 2011
I
t has become quite evident that patients who present with urologic symptoms play a large role
in the typical primary care physician’s practice. Patients with urologic symptoms range from the
very young to the very old. Examples of conditions where the family doctor is either the “first-line
Urology Issues and Their Impact on Primary Care Practice
responder” or part of a the patient’s follow up management are: hematuria, elevated prostate-specific
antigen (PSA), phimosis, acute or recurrent urinary tract infections, incontinence (stress, urgency,
or overflow), prostatitis, benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS),
overactive bladder, and prostate cancer.
In 2008, after considerable consultationwith urologists and family care practitioners,
The Canadian Journal
of Urology
published its first supplement to guide primary care physicians treating patients with urologic
symptoms, “Urology Update for Primary Care Physicians 2008.” In November 2009, under the direction
of the Society of Urologic Surgeons of Ontario (SUSO), a symposium was held to discuss updates to
urologic topics. The output from that meeting was the basis of the journal’s updated supplement, of
which I was the Editor, and which was published in February 2010. The primary care physicians were
gratified to see that with education and exposure to certain treatment/management algorithms and
careful patient work up, they could institute primary medical management for some of these common
urologic conditions.
In February 2011, again under the auspices of SUSO, another symposiumwas held, which featured four
lectures. After each lecture, family care practitioners had an opportunity to sit at a round table with
one of the many urologists present and to ask him or her questions about the lecture or about their own
patients’ problems.
The articles in this supplement, which are the outcome of the SUSO meeting, present state-of-the-art
patient management strategies using evidence-based medicine, to answer questions and empower
primary care physicians to diagnose and provide initial treatment for some of the most common urologic
conditions: erectile dysfunction and hypogonadism (low testosterone), overactive bladder, BPH, and
prostate cancer/PSA.
This supplement concludes with an article that provides an understanding of the latest pharmacologic
alternatives and their potential side effects, which will give the primary care physician the ability to
have an up-to-date, informed “risk-benefit” discussion when he recommends medical management for
the patient with these most common urologic conditions.
Jack Barkin, MD
University of Toronto
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Executive Deputy Editor