Presented by: Pablo Contreras MD
Hospital Alemán

Introduction

Double-pigtail ureteral stents are used for multiple purposes in Urology. Despite they temporize the subsequent treatment of lithiasis, they may cause different symptoms such as suprapubic or flank pain, vesicoureteral reflux, hematuria, bladder irritation, urgency, or incontinence, that impact on quality of life (QoL). 

Purpose: assessed whether the diameter of ureteral stents (4.7 Fr, 6 Fr, 7 Fr) has an impact on catheter-associated symptoms and their impact on quality of life. 

Materials

194 patients undergoing ureteral stent insertion after ureterorenoscopy between December 2018 and December 2022 were prospectively enrolled and randomized into three categories: 4.7 Fr (Group 1, n=71), 6 Fr (Group 2, n=65) and 7 Fr (Group 3, n=58). Whitin one week after the double j (DJ) placement, patients completed the “Ureteric Stent Symptoms Questionnaire”.

Results

,

The domains in which found a significant difference was in “work” and “additional problems (AP)”. "Work" had a result of 13.75 SD 5.01 in favor of the group with 4.7 Fr (p=0.014).  In the domain AP patients in G3 demonstrated that they had fewer visits to emergency. In questions U4 and U5 about urinary incontinence warned or unaware, patients in G2 and G3 developed these symptoms more than patients in G1, p <0.001 and 0.041 respectively for U4 and U5. In "sexual activity" domain, specifically in question S3, which emphasizes whether the patient have ever suffered any type of pain during sexual activity, resulting that patients with 4.7 have not had or have had milder symptoms in relation to catheters with a larger diameter.

Conclusion

Ureteral catheter related symptoms may affect quality of life in most cases. The 4.7 Fr catheter produced significantly less urinary incontinence, faster work reincorporation, less symptoms related to sexual activity and less catheter related symptoms than 6 and 7 Fr Catheters.

Funding

---

Co-Authors

Sofia Butori, MD
Hospital Aleman

Emanuel Martinez Pagano, MD
Hospital Aleman de Buenos Aires

Nicolas Bonanno, MD
Hospital Aleman

Luis Rico, MD
Hospital Aleman

Leandro Blas, MD
Hospital Aleman