Reinforcement of the Triple D score with simple addition of the intrarenal location for the prediction of the stone-free rate after shockwave lithotripsy for renal stones 10-20 mm in diameter.

PURPOSE: We investigated the clinical efficacy of the Triple D score (TrD-S) on stone-free rate (SFR) prediction following shockwave lithotripsy (SWL) for renal stones 10-20 mm in diameter and modified the scoring system to improve outcome prediction. METHODS: We retrospectively examined clinical data from the medical records of 226 consecutive patients who underwent SWL for 10-20 mm kidney stones. The TrD-S was calculated according to the cutoffs of < 150 mm3 for stone volume, < 600 Hounsfield unit for stone density, and < 12 cm for skin-to-stone distance on computed tomography. The Quadruple D score was defined as the sum of the TrD-S and stone location (0/1 point for intrarenal stone distribution at lower/non-lower poles, respectively). Complete clearance 3 months after the final SWL was considered the stone-free status. RESULTS: The residual group (n = 102) had significantly older age, larger stones, higher stone density, higher lower-pole stone incidence, and lower TrD-S than the stone-free group (n = 124). In the multivariate analysis, age, TrD-S, and non-lower-pole stones independently predicted the SFR. The TrD-Ss of 0, 1, 2, and 3 points showed SFRs of 40.0%, 51.9%, 73.0%, and 100.0%, respectively. The Quadruple D scores of 0, 1, 2, 3, and 4 points showed SFRs of 0.0%, 37.9%, 54.5%, 84.4%, and 100.0%, respectively, with better prediction accuracy than the TrD-S (p = 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: The TrD-S is successfully validated for use in Japanese patients with 10-20-mm renal stones. Simple addition of the stone location to the TrD-S could reinforce SFR prediction after SWL.

Age-related delay in urinary stone clearance in elderly patients with solitary proximal ureteral calculi treated by extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy.

We investigated the effects of aging on the stone-free rate (SFR) after shock wave lithotripsy (SWL) for the treatment of proximal ureteral calculi. A total of 247 consecutive patients were retrospectively selected, classified into seven groups set at 10 year increments (from 20 to 90 years), and examined for SFR after SWL. According to our final analysis, 185 male and 62 female patients with an average age of 54.1 years had stones with a diameter of 11.5 mm and a density of 893.1 Hounsfield units. On average, SFR was 74.9 % at 3 months after 1.7 SWL sessions. SFR gradually reached ≥ 90 % for each age-group after 1.5-2 years. Median durations to achieve 50 % SFR were estimated to be 21 and 86 days for those in their 20 and 80 s, respectively. However, the difference between the two estimates was not significant (p = 0.064). The durations to achieve 50 % SFR for the other groups lay between these two estimates. Aging does not affect long-term SFR, but patients aged ≥ 80 years might experience delayed stone clearance within the first 12 months after SWL.

Stone clearance after extracorporeal shockwave lithotripsy in patients with solitary pure calcium oxalate stones smaller than 1.0 cm in the proximal ureter, with special reference to monohydrate and dihydrate content.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to assess stone-free rates following extracorporeal shockwave lithotripsy (ESWL) of pure calcium oxalate (CaOx) stones in the proximal ureter. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The investigators retrospectively examined 53 patients with 5-10 mm pure CaOx stones in the proximal ureter from the medical archives of 593 consecutive patients treated with ESWL. The compositions of calcium oxalate monohydrate (COM) and dihydrate (COD) in a given stone were determined by infrared spectrometry. Stone size, attenuation number and stone-to-skin distance (SSD) were measured using plain radiography and computed tomography (CT). ESWL success was evaluated by stone-free status after the first single session. RESULTS: On average, calculi were 8.0 × 5.3 mm in size, with an SSD of 11.0 cm. The mean CT attenuation value was 740.1 HU. Attenuation numbers correlated significantly with stone diameter (r = 0.49), but had no correlation with the stone content of COM or COD. A negative correlation was observed between COM and COD content (r = -0.925). With regard to patients' physical characteristics and COM and COD content, no differences were found between study subgroups with stone-free and residual status (n = 38 and 15, respectively). There were also no differences in clinical features between patient subgroups with COM- or COD-predominant stones (n = 22 and 31, respectively). CONCLUSION: The findings indicated that the differences in COM and COD content of CaOx stones had no impact on stone clearance after ESWL and that a favorable stone-free rate of the stones treated with ESWL may be achieved independently of CaOx hydration.

Posterior retroperitoneoscopic partial adrenalectomy: clinical experience in 47 procedures.

OBJECTIVES: We evaluated posterior retroperitoneoscopic partial adrenalectomy with regard to operative complications, operation time, intraoperative blood loss. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Between January 1997 and April 2002, we performed 47 posterior retroperitoneoscopic partial adrenalectomies. There were 18 males and 29 females with a mean age of 48 years (range 28-82 years). The average adrenal tumor size was 26 mm (range 10-50mm). All procedures required three trocars. RESULTS: There was no mortality and conversion rate to open surgery was 2.1%. Average operative time and average blood loss was 198.0 ml (range 71-420 ml) and 40.8 ml (range 0-1100 ml), respectively. There was a significant correlation of operative time with the number of procedures performed. However, no significant correlation was observed between intraoperative blood loss and the number of procedures. Tumor size did not correlate with intraoperative blood loss and operative time. No significant correlation was found between body mass index and operative time. The operative time in the initial 20 cases was significantly longer than that in the subsequent 26 cases. CONCLUSION: Posterior retroperitoneoscopic partial adrenalectomy is a safe and less invasive method for treatment of adrenal tumors. With improved operative technique, the time required for this procedure has been decreased.