Yash B. Shah, Anushka Ghosh, Aaron Hochberg, James R. Mark, Costas D. Lallas, Mihir S. Shah

Canadian Journal of Urology, Vol.31, No.5, pp. 12013-12018, 2024

Abstract Introduction: Patients seek support from online resources when facing a troubling urologic cancer diagnosis. Physician-written resources exceed the recommended 6-8th grade reading level, creating confusion and driving patients towards unregulated online materials like AI chatbots. We aim to compare the readability and quality of patient education on ChatGPT against Epic and Urology Care Foundation (UCF).
Materials and methods: We analyzed prostate, bladder, and kidney cancer content from ChatGPT, Epic, and UCF. We further studied readability-adjusted responses using specific AI prompting (ChatGPT-a) and Epic material designated as Easy to Read. Blinded reviewers completed descriptive textual analysis, readability analysis… More >

Kevan M. Sternberg¹, Andrew Pham¹, Theodore Cisu¹, Marissa L. Kildow², Kristina L. Penniston²

Canadian Journal of Urology, Vol.25, No.6, pp. 9585-9590, 2018

Abstract Introduction: Renal colic is commonly seen in the emergency department (ED), where the focus is on diagnosis and symptom control. Educational materials are sometimes provided upon discharge; however, no standard content has been established. We characterized the educational materials given to patients reporting to EDs in different regions across the U.S. for symptomatic kidney stones, specifically evaluating disease-specific information, symptom management, prevention strategies including dietary recommendations (DRs), and patient follow up plans.
Materials and methods: Generic discharge instructions for patients presenting to EDs with renal colic were obtained from community hospitals and academic medical centers between October… More >

Daniel J. Sadowski¹, Chandy S. Ellimoottil², Ajay Tejwani³, Alex Gorbonos¹

Canadian Journal of Urology, Vol.20, No.6, pp. 7015-7020, 2013

Abstract Introduction: Proton therapy (PT) for prostate cancer is an expensive treatment with limited evidence of benefit over conventional radiotherapy. We sought to study whether online information on PT for prostate cancer was balanced and whether the website source influenced the content presented.
Materials and methods: We applied a systematic search process to identify 270 weblinks associated with PT for prostate cancer, categorized the websites by source, and filtered the results to 50 websites using predetermined criteria. We then used a customized version of the DISCERN instrument, a validated tool for assessing the quality of consumer health information,… More >

Deb Feldman-Stewart^1,2, Michael D. Brundage^1,2,3, Christine Tong¹

Canadian Journal of Urology, Vol.18, No.6, pp. 5998-6006, 2011

Abstract Introduction: We conducted a systematic review of primary evidence to clarify what information influences treatment selection by patients with early stage prostate cancer.
Materials and methods: We conducted a systematic review of the Web of Knowledge, using the ALL DATABASES option. Papers were then triaged out on the basis of the title and/or abstract, leaving 120 papers. Reviewing the full papers resulted in a final corpus of 21 papers.
Results: The data suggest that patients typically balance potential benefits against potential side effects but in a complex way with large variation across patients. For some patients, potential benefits… More >