Kidney stone disease.

Kidney stone disease is rapidly increasing with a strong relationship to metabolic syndrome. This review gives a brief overview of the current state and current treatment modalities. Increasing use of CT and ultrasound scans leads to increased diagnosis of asymptomatic kidney stones, which rarely require treatment. The trend in stone treatment goes towards endoscopic lithotripsy which together with ESWL enables a personalised approach. Obstructive stones with infection require urgent intervention to reduce mortality. Increased fluid intake, dietary changes as well as potassium citrate supplements are the most important elements in stone prevention in the common idiopathic stone disease.

Implementation of sacral neuromodulation for urinary indications. A Danish prospective study during the initial 15 months of a new service in a tertiary referral hospital.

OBJECTIVE: Sacral neuromodulation (SNM) is a well-established treatment modality for idiopathic overactive bladder and urgency incontinence, idiopathic fecal incontinence and non-obstructive urinary retention. This study describes the start-up phase of establishing the SNM service. Primary objective: To investigate the patient-reported outcome measures of SNM on lower urinary tract dysfunction symptoms. Secondary objectives: To investigate bowel function, sexual satisfaction and to monitor SNM safety. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twenty-two patients with refractory idiopathic and neurogenic lower urinary tract dysfunction were offered a two-stage test-phase procedure and SNM device implantation. On completing the study, the patients rated their satisfaction with the treatment using a five-point Likert scale and a bother score of urinary, bowel and sexual symptoms on a scale of 1-10 (the worst). Their complications were assessed. RESULTS: Nineteen patients (86%) were responders during the test phase and had the pulse generator implanted. Seventeen patients were very satisfied/satisfied. A statistically significant change in urinary symptoms bother score was observed in the idiopathic and neurogenic patients, a reduction from 10 to 4 (p = .0057) and 10 to 3 (p = .014), respectively. Eleven patients (58%) had symptoms from two or three pelvic compartments. Nine patients (47%) had complications. All but one event was resolved. CONCLUSIONS: SNM is safe in this heterogeneous group of patients with refractory lower urinary tract dysfunction of various etiologies. A substantial improvement was observed in the pelvic organ dysfunction, demanding a multidisciplinary approach. More studies are required to standardize the evaluation of the subjective and objective outcomes of SNM.