SynthesisBMJ open2024
Balloon dilation for the treatment of male urethral strictures: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in BMJ open, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
6 citing papers in PubMed, 5 citations in OpenAlex.
- Navigating the landscape of graft ureteral strictures in renal transplant recipients: A single-center case series and literature review.Pakistan journal of medical sciences · 2026Article
- Management of urethral stricture: translating guidelines into clinical practice.World journal of urology · 2026Article
- Article
- Prophylactic adjuvant therapy for postoperative recurrence of urethral stricture: a narrative review.Translational andrology and urology · 2025Review
- Long-term prognosis of urethral balloon dilation for urethral strictures: experience from a tertiary care center in China.Translational andrology and urology · 2025Article
- BEES-HAUS preventing urethral stricture recurrence by restoring the integrity of urothelium and its further simplified version, the BHES-HAUS.Frontiers in bioengineering and biotechnology · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveThe use of minimally invasive endoluminal treatment for urethral strictures has been a subject for debate for several decades. The aim of this study was to review and discuss the safety, efficacy and factors influencing the clinical application of balloon dilation for the treatment of male urethral strictures.
designSystematic review and meta-analysis. DATA SOURCES: Embase, Medline, Web of Science, Cochrane Library and Scopus were searched for publications published before 17 July 2022. STUDY SELECTION: Two independent researchers screened and assessed the results, and all clinical studies on balloon dilation for the treatment of urethral strictures in men were included. DATA EXTRACTION AND SYNTHESIS: The success rate, rate of adverse events, International Prostate Symptom Scores, maximum uroflow (Qmax) and postvoid residual urine volume were the main outcomes. Stata V.14.0 was used for statistical analysis.
resultsFifteen studies with 715 patients were ultimately included in this systematic review. The pooled results of eight studies showed that the reported success rate of simple balloon dilation for male urethral strictures was 67.07% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 55.92% to 77.36%). The maximum urinary flow rate at 3 months (risk ratio [RR]= 2.6510, 95% CI: 1.0681 to 4.2338, p<0.01) and the maximum urinary flow rate at 1 year (RR= 1.6637, 95% CI: 1.1837 to 2.1437, p<0.05) were significantly different after dilation. There is insufficient evidence to suggest that balloon dilation is superior to optical internal urethrotomy or direct visual internal urethrotomy (DVIU) (RR= 1.4754, 95% CI: 0.7306 to 2.9793, p=0.278).
conclusionBalloon dilation may be an intermediate step before urethroplasty and is a promising alternative therapy to simple dilation and DVIU. The balloon is a promising drug delivery tool, and paclitaxel drug-coated balloon dilation is effective in reducing retreatment rates in patients with recurrent anterior urethral strictures. The aetiology, location, length, previous treatment of urethral stricture may be associated with the efficacy of balloon dilation. PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD42022334403.
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