Rigid ureteroscopic lithotripsy in the lateral decubitus position for upper urinary tract stones.

BACKGROUND: The current study aimed to assess a novel ureteroscopic technique developed for treating upper urinary calculi based on a specially designed lateral decubitus body position that could avoid stone loss by adjusting to the effects of gravity. METHODS: This retrospective study examined patients with upper urinary calculi who were surgically treated from November 2008 to January 2020, using a new body position and a rigid ureteroscope. Clinical outcomes, stone-free rates, operative times and complications were evaluated, and factors that could influence treatment success were determined. RESULTS: In total, 1080 patients were included, and 1145 operations were performed. The maximum calculus diameters were 11.22 ± 5.01 mm. Operative times were 48.60 ± 27.44 min. A total of 1042 cases were successfully treated, with a stone-free rate of 91.00%. Multivariate analysis showed that female sex (OR = 2.135, 95% CI 1.332-3.422, P = 0.002), thin scope standby (OR = 1.643, 95% CI 1.074-2.514, P = 0.022), laser lithotripsy (OR = 5.087, 95% CI 2.400-10.785, P = 0.000) and stone size (OR = 0.946, 95% CI 0.912-0.981, P = 0.003) were independently associated with stone-free outcomes. In total, 2 ureteral perforations, 2 ureteric avulsions and 4 urosepsis cases were observed, but were all cured without sequelae. CONCLUSIONS: Ureteroscopic lithotripsy in the lateral decubitus position is a safe and effective technique for treating upper urinary tract calculi, especially upper ureteral calculi.

New potential solutions for the chemolysis of urinary phosphate calculi determined by an in vitro study.

To find a more efficient solution for chemolysis of urinary calculi, several organic acids were chosen to form solutions by consulting the composition of a classic solution, Suby G. The solutions together with Renacidin, another classic solution, were designed to react with the 4 phosphate components of urinary stone. The processes were real-time measured and analysed by a focused beam reflectance measurement, and the efficiency factors were investigated and discussed in detail. The results show that several organic acids, e.g. hydroxyacetic acid, lactic acid and α-ketoglutaric acid, are more efficient than citric acid in dissolving urinary phosphate calculus. The new solutions containing the organic acids are promising for improving chemolysis treatment.