Holmium laser lithotripsy versus ureteroscopic pneumatic lithotripsy in treatment of impacted upper ureteral calculi

Abstract

Objective To expore the clinical efficacies of ureteroscopic pneumatic lithotripsy versus holmium laser lithotripsy in the treatment of impacted upper ureteral calculi. Methods 100 patients with upper ureteral calculi treated at our hospital from September, 2014 to September, 2016 were selected and randomly divided into an observation group and a control group, 50 for each group. The observation group was treated with holmium laser lithotripsy and the control group ureteroscopic pneumatic lithotripsy. The clinical indicators, therapeutic effects, and complications were compared between the two groups. Results The operation time and hospitalization time were longer in the control group than in the observation group [(46.58±9.12) min vs. (38.50±8.65) min and (10.05±2.13) d vs. (7.06±1.25) d], with statistical differences (all P<0.05). The successful lithotripsy rate and stone clearance rate were higher and the incidence of complications was lower in the observation group than in the control group (98.00% vs. 84.00%, 96.00% vs. 82.00%, and 4.00% vs. 16.00%), with statistical differences (all P<0.05). Conclusions Holmium laser lithotripsy in the treatment of upper ureteral calculi can significantly improve the success rate of lithotripsy and stone removal rate and has the advantages of high safety, rapid recovery, and so on. Key words: Holmium laser lithotripsy; Ureteroscope pneumatic lithotripsy; Impacted upper ureteral calculi