Aristeidis Alevizopoulos1, Dimitrios Zosimas2, Lamprini Piha3, Milad Hanna4, Konstantinos Charitopoulos4. 1. Department of Urology, Colchester Hospital University Foundation Trust, Colchester, London, UK. 2. Department of General Surgery, West Midlesex University Hospital of London, London, UK. 3. Athens University of Economics and Business, Athens, Greece. 4. Department of Urology, West Midlesex University Hospital of London, London, UK.
Abstract
INTRODUCTION: The management of ureteral calculi has evolved over the past decades with the advent of new surgical and medical treatments. The current guidelines support conservative management as a possible approach for ureteral stones sized = 10 mm. OBJECTIVES: We purport to follow the natural history of ureteral stones managed conservatively in this retrospective study, and attempt to ascribe an estimated health-care and cost-effectiveness, from presentation to time of being stone-free. MATERIALS AND METHODS: 192 male and female patients with a single ureteral stone sized = 10 mm were included in this study. The clinical and cost-related outcome was analyzed for different stone sizes (0-4, 4-6 and 6-10 mm). The effectiveness of selected follow-up (FU) scans was also analyzed. RESULTS: Stone size was found to be related to the degree of hydronephrosis and to the likelihood of need for a surgical management. Conservative management was found to be clinically effective, as 88% of the patients did not require surgery for their stone. 96.1% of the patients with a stone 0-4mm managed to expel their ureteral stone. Bigger ureteral stones were found to be more costly. The cost-effectiveness of the single FU scans was found to be related to their efficiency, while the global cost-effectiveness of conservative management vs. early surgery was higher for smaller stones (26.8 vs. 17.32% for stones 0-4 vs. 6-10 mm). CONCLUSION: Conservative management is clinically effective with a significant cost-benefit, particularly for the subgroup of stones sized 0-4 mm, where a need for FU scans is in dispute.
INTRODUCTION: The management of ureteral calculi has evolved over the past decades with the advent of new surgical and medical treatments. The current guidelines support conservative management as a possible approach for ureteral stones sized = 10 mm. OBJECTIVES: We purport to follow the natural history of ureteral stones managed conservatively in this retrospective study, and attempt to ascribe an estimated health-care and cost-effectiveness, from presentation to time of being stone-free. MATERIALS AND METHODS: 192 male and female patients with a single ureteral stone sized = 10 mm were included in this study. The clinical and cost-related outcome was analyzed for different stone sizes (0-4, 4-6 and 6-10 mm). The effectiveness of selected follow-up (FU) scans was also analyzed. RESULTS: Stone size was found to be related to the degree of hydronephrosis and to the likelihood of need for a surgical management. Conservative management was found to be clinically effective, as 88% of the patients did not require surgery for their stone. 96.1% of the patients with a stone 0-4mm managed to expel their ureteral stone. Bigger ureteral stones were found to be more costly. The cost-effectiveness of the single FU scans was found to be related to their efficiency, while the global cost-effectiveness of conservative management vs. early surgery was higher for smaller stones (26.8 vs. 17.32% for stones 0-4 vs. 6-10 mm). CONCLUSION: Conservative management is clinically effective with a significant cost-benefit, particularly for the subgroup of stones sized 0-4 mm, where a need for FU scans is in dispute.
Authors: Wassim Chaabane; Françoise Praddaude; Marie Buleon; Acil Jaafar; Marion Vallet; Pascal Rischmann; Carolina I Galarreta; Robert L Chevalier; Ivan Tack Journal: Am J Physiol Renal Physiol Date: 2012-12-05
Authors: Abdulla Al-Ansari; Abdulla Al-Naimi; Abdulkader Alobaidy; Khalid Assadiq; Mohamed D Azmi; Ahmed A Shokeir Journal: Urology Date: 2010-01 Impact factor: 2.649