Presented by: Ratchanon Wongtreeratanachai MD
Ramathibodi Hospital

Introduction

Kidney transplantation (KT) is considered the gold standard treatment for end-stage kidney disease. Prophylactic ureteric stenting in KT reduces major urological complications. However, at present, there is no consensus on the ideal size of ureteral stents. Our objective is to determine the optimal size for stents in this clinical setting.

Materials

We prospectively recruited 70 patients who were undergoing KT between February and December 2021 and randomly assigned them to either the 4.8 Fr or the 6 Fr ureteral stent groups with a 1:1 ratio. Basic characteristics, postoperative adverse events within three months of transplantation, and answers to the ureteral stent symptom questionnaire (USSQ) were collected and analyzed.

Results

,

The findings demonstrated that the use of a 4.8 Fr during the ureteroneocystostomy step was not inferior to that of a 6 Fr in terms of urinary leakage (11.4% vs. 2.9%, p = 0.164) anastomotic stricture (2.9% vs. 0%, p = 0.314), and postoperative urinary tract infection (28.6% vs. 20.0%, p = 0.403). Furthermore, the USSQ scores for urinary symptoms were higher for the 6 Fr stent than for the 4.8 Fr stent.

Conclusion

Based on the evidence from the present study, implanting a 4.8 Fr ureteral stent was not inferior to using a 6 Fr stent in patients who had undergone KT in terms of anastomotic adverse events, though it improved stent-related symptoms.

Funding

None

Lead Authors

Chinnakhet Ketsuwan, MD
Ramathibodi Hospital