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The following is a summary of “For upper ureteral stone, semirigid ureteroscopy or flexible ureteroscopy? Strengths and weaknesses,” published in the November 2024 issue of Urology by Wu et al.
Researchers conducted a retrospective study to compare flexible and semirigid ureteroscopy for treating upper ureteral stones.
They conducted a retrospective cohort study among 167 patients who underwent flexible or semirigid ureteroscopic lithotripsy. Preoperative, intraoperative, postoperative, and 1-year follow-up outcomes were compared between the 2 procedures.
The results showed a significantly higher instant stone-clearance rate in semirigid ureteroscopy (92.4% vs 81.3%, P = 0.032) and shorter operative time (44.1 ± 24.6 min vs 62.1 ± 27.6 min, P < 0.001). Stone-clearance rates for 1 month were similar (93.5% vs. 90.7%, P = 0.500). Baseline characteristics, hospital stay, expenses, and complications were similar between groups. Strictures occurred in 3 flexible ureteroscopy cases and 2 semirigid ureteroscopy cases. Further analysis indicated flexible ureteroscopy was more affected by hydronephrosis and stone size, while semirigid ureteroscopy was more affected by stone location.
They found both flexible and semirigid ureteroscopy had high stone clearance rates with similar outcomes, though each was suited to different patient and stone characteristics.
Source: bmcurol.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12894-024-01647-w
