ABU URPS study guide
ABU URPS · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
The American Board of Urology Recertification Examination - also referred to as the ABU Knowledge Assessment or Lifelong Learning Examination - is the continuing-certification instrument for urologists who already hold ABU certification and are maintaining it through the board's lifelong learning pathway. It is a knowledge-maintenance assessment for practicing surgeons, not an entry-level qualifying exam, so questions assume a working command of clinical urology rather than teaching it from the ground up. The ABU URPS study guide has 11 sections and about 2,269 words.
01General Urology and Office Practice
Office urology rewards pattern recognition: hematuria evaluation, UTI stratification (uncomplicated vs complicated vs recurrent), BPH/BPH mimics, scrotal pain, and appropriate use of urinalysis, urine culture, PSA, and imaging. Know when to image (gross hematuria, persistent microscopic hematuria after negative UA, risk-stratified CT urography) and when not to.
263 words, about 1 min02Urologic Oncology
Know staging and risk stratification for prostate, kidney, bladder, and testicular cancers, plus the treatment logic that follows. Prostate: Gleason/ISUP grade group, PSA, D'Amico/NCCN risk, and when active surveillance is appropriate (low-risk, low-volume).
255 words, about 1 min03Endourology and Stone Disease
Master stone composition (calcium oxalate, calcium phosphate, uric acid, struvite, cystine), metabolic evaluation, and procedure selection by size and location. Ureteral stones <10 mm often pass; distal stones <10 mm may be observed with medical expulsive therapy.
228 words, about 1 min04Female Urology and Voiding Dysfunction
Understand stress, urge, and mixed incontinence; overactive bladder; pelvic organ prolapse; and urethral syndromes. Evaluation includes history, bladder diary, pelvic exam, urinalysis, and urodynamics when diagnosis is unclear or surgery is planned for complex cases.
207 words, about 1 min05Pediatric Urology
Focus on antenatal hydronephrosis, vesicoureteral reflux (VUR), hypospadias, cryptorchidism, phimosis, hydrocele/hernia, and posterior urethral valves (PUV). Understand grading (hydronephrosis SFU, VUR grades I–V), when to image (VCUG for high-grade hydronephrosis or febrile UTI), and timing of surgery (orchidopexy by 6–18 months; hypospadias repair at 6–18 months).
188 words, under 1 min06Renal Transplantation and Vascular Surgery
Understand transplant evaluation, donor selection, surgical anatomy (iliac vessel anastomosis, ureteroneocystostomy), immunosuppression, and complications by timing. Early: vascular thrombosis, urine leak, delayed graft function, hyperacute/acute rejection.
180 words, under 1 min07Trauma and Reconstructive Urology
Know renal, ureteral, bladder, urethral, and genital trauma evaluation and management. Renal trauma: CT with contrast for stable patients; most blunt injuries are managed nonoperatively.
185 words, under 1 min08Infertility and Sexual Function
Understand male infertility evaluation (semen analysis, hormones, varicocele, obstruction) and sexual dysfunction (erectile dysfunction, Peyronie disease, ejaculatory disorders). Semen analysis parameters: volume, concentration, motility, morphology.
192 words, under 1 min09Neurourology and Urodynamics
Understand neurogenic bladder patterns by lesion level: suprasacral (spastic, detrusor overactivity, risk of dyssynergia), sacral/peripheral (flaccid, areflexic), and mixed. Know urodynamic parameters: capacity, compliance, detrusor pressure, leak point pressure, and detrusor-sphincter dyssynergia.
187 words, under 1 min10Uroradiology and Imaging
Know modality selection: ultrasound for screening/hydronephrosis and testis; CT urography for hematuria and stone/upper tract evaluation; MRI for staging and renal mass characterization; nuclear medicine (DMSA, MAG3) for function and obstruction. Understand contrast phases (noncontrast, corticomedullary, nephrographic, excretory) and radiation stewardship.
200 words, about 1 min11Pathology and Basic Science
Integrate histology, molecular biology, and pathophysiology. Know urothelial carcinoma variants and grading, prostate adenocarcinoma grading (Gleason/ISUP), renal cell carcinoma subtypes, and testicular germ cell tumors.
184 words, under 1 min