Effect of Prestenting on Success and Complication Rates of Ureterorenoscopy in Pediatric Population

Abstract

In this study, we aimed to investigate the effect of prestenting on success and complication rates of pediatric ureterorenoscopy (URS) procedures. We retrospectively analyzed the data of 251 pediatric URS cases. Forty-seven of the patients were prestented. Success and complication rates of the prestented and nonprestented groups were compared and further analysis was performed with respect to stone location (renal vs ureteral) and size (7-mm cutoff). Multivariate analysis was performed to define factors associated with success rates. Mean age of the population was 8.9 years. Success rate of the entire population was 80.5% and significant difference between prestented and nonprestented groups was detected (91.5% vs 77.9%, p = 0.04). Higher success rates of the prestented group were also observed in ureteral stones (94.1% vs 79.5%, p = 0.04) and stones >7 mm (84.6% vs 74.1%, p = 0.72). Prestented group showed higher success rates in kidney stones, but the difference was insignificant (84.6% vs 74.1%, p = 0.72). Prestenting was also identified as an independent predictor of success in multivariate analysis. Complication rate in the prestented group was also lower, but the difference was not significant (8.5% vs 14.7%, p = 0.347). Prestenting was found to increase the success rate of URS in cases of larger stones and ureteral stones in pediatric population. Prestenting also provides lower, but insignificant, complication rates. However, this procedure also has significant disadvantages. Based on the results of current study, we cannot recommend routine prestenting in pediatric cases. Instead, we recommend an attempt to treat the stone in the first session and place a stent in case of failed procedure to utilize potential benefits of prestenting while avoiding disadvantages.