Cairo,3rd of Feb2023 

The Egyptian Association for Urology Research, in cooperation with the Supreme Council of University Hospitals and the Egyptian Medical Association, and sponsored by EVA Pharma, has launched the second edition of the Egyptian guidelines for the treatment of urological diseases, a critical area of specialization.

Dr. Mohamed Awad Taj El-Din, presidential adviser for health affairs, stressed the importance of putting in place national guidelines and guidelines for various medical specialties that help patients obtain the best medical care.

He said that establishing guidelines for various diseases ensure the optimal use of antibiotics in terms of type and duration, helping prevent antibiotic resistance. He added that the Egyptian Society of Chest Diseases and Tuberculosis has set guidelines for respiratory infections.

Dr. Sherif Murad, professor of urology at Ain Shams University and rapporteur for the Egyptian Urology Guidelines Committee, said that the committee began work in November 2019, as a result of the efforts of the Egyptian Urology Association and the Supreme Council of University Hospitals, with the support of the Egyptian Medical Association. Formed by a decree from Dr. Khaled Abdel Ghaffar, then minister of higher education and scientific research, the committee includes a number of specialized academics among its members and has 14 sub-committees.

Murad said that the first edition of the guidelines was launched in 2021 to serve as a reference for urologists and others for whom it would be relevant, include those working on cancer or male infertility.

The committee continues to update the guidelines periodically, in line with international medical trends, and to keep abreast of updates in the specialty, Murad said, so that the guidelines retain their value.

The goal of the committee at this stage is to unify the guidelines in the various health facilities affiliated with different authorities and ministries in all governorates, he added, in order to ensure equality between patients and to improve recovery rates.

Dr. Muhammad Shalaby, professor of urology, said that although there are international guidelines in the specialty of urology, some of them are not commensurate with the medical capabilities available at health facilities

Many surgeries abroad currently depend on the use of robots and modern endoscopes, he said, and these capabilities are not available in some Egyptian establishments, especially in the areas outside Cairo.

The nature of urinary tract diseases is different in Egypt than abroad due to climatic conditions and the spread of some diseases, Shalaby also said. For example, there are some cases of kidney stones among children as young as 6 months old.

He noted that the launch of the second edition of the urological guidelines was attended by more than 100 doctors.

The committee also sought the assistance of expert Alaa Ghoneimi, professor of pediatric surgery at the University of Paris, he said.

Shalaby also praised the efforts of EVA Pharma, an Egyptian pharmaceutical company which provides Egyptian patients with treatments of high quality and at reasonable prices.

For his part, Dr. Rafiq Al-Halabi, professor of urology at the Faculty of Medicine at Ain Shams University, said that the existence of guidelines for dealing with urological cases is beneficial for patients, both at the diagnosis and treatment stages.

The guidelines are also beneficial for doctors, allowing them to provide the most appropriate treatment methods in each case, preventing potential professional mistakes and exposure to legal risk.

He emphasized that the results of the publication of the first version of the guidelines was very good, and many young doctors working in the specialty sought help from the publication. The second version was the result of an integrated effort over months to include everything that is part of the specialty, with the addition of infections, testicular cancers and adrenal gland diseases.

Al-Halabi said that kidney stones, kidney and bladder cancer, and prostate enlargement are among the most common diseases of the urinary tract among men, and that the incidence of prostate tumors, both benign and malignant, increases over the age of 50.