Effect of Double J Stent on Outcomes of Extracorporeal Shock Wave Lithotripsy

Background: Many studies showed that stone-free rates (SFRs) after extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (SWL) might be related to both the patient (body mass index; BMI, skin-to-stone distance; SSD), and stone related factors (location, stone size, and stone density). However, the possible effect of pre-stenting on success as well as complication rates after SWL has not been evaluated in detail to date. Taking this fact into account, the effect of pre-stenting on the outcomes of SWL treatment in renal stones must be evaluated in the absence of possible effects induced by the patient and stone-related factors. Aim: To evaluate the effect of double J (JJ) stents on SWL treatment of moderate sized (15-25-mm) renal pelvic stones. Study design: Randomized prospective study Methods: Between January 2016 and December 2017, a total of 152 adult patients who were planned to undergo SWL for a single radiopaque renal pelvic stone were included in the study. Patients with solitary kidney, congenital abnormality, skeletal tract abnormalities, previous urinary system surgery, hydronephrosis (grade 2 or more), untreated urinary tract infection, bleeding disorder, and suspected pregnancy were excluded. The remaining 114 patients were randomly divided into two groups; nonstented and stented. Twenty-two patients whose stone could not be fragmented despite 3 consecutive sessions were also excluded from the study. A total of 92 patients (54 non-stented and 38 stented) were included in the final analysis.