ABC of flexible cystoscopy for junior trainee and general practitioner

INTRODUCTION: Flexible cystoscopy is a diagnostic procedure usually performed under local anesthesia and has been used in the outpatient setting since the 1980s. METHODS: We performed an electronic search of MEDLINE(®) and the Cochrane Central Search Library between 1990 and 2010. Duplicate references were removed. One reviewer extracted the publications relevant to general clinical practice. RESULTS: MEDLINE search using the MeSH (Medical Subject Headings) words “flexible” and “cystoscopy” revealed 274 titles, and there were 42 titles in the Cochrane Central Search Library. However, interestingly, only 13 published papers addressing the clinical practice of flexible cystoscopy in the English literature were identified. CONCLUSIONS: Flexible cystoscopy is a real revolution in the field of diagnostic urology.