Abstract
ABSTRACTPurpose:Retained or forgotten ureteral stents (FUS) have a potential to cause significant morbidity as well as medico-legal issues and increased cost. We aimed to evaluate the efficacy and usefulness of smartphone-based Ureteral Stent Tracker (UST) application and compare the results with basic appointment card system to prevent FUS, prospectively.Materials and Methods:A total of 90 patients who underwent ureteroscopic stone treatment procedure with indwelling DJ stents were equally distributed into two groups. In group-1, patients were followed using UST application. In group-2, only appointment cards were given to the patients. Two groups were compared in terms of stent overdue times and complete lost to follow up rates.Results:Forty-four patients in group-1 and 43 patients in group-2 completed the study. Among patients, 22.7% in group-1 and 27.9% in group-2 did not return for the stent removal on the scheduled day. In group-1, these patients were identified using the UST and called for the stent removal on the same day. After 6 weeks of maximal waiting period, mean overdue times in group-1 and group-2 were 3.5 days and 20 days, respectively (p = 0.001). In group-2, 3 patients (6.9%) were lost to follow up, while in group-1, it was none (p = 0.001).Conclusions:We found that the patients who were followed by the smartphone-based UST application has less overdue times and lost to follow up cases compared to the basic appointment card system. The UST application easily follows patients with indwelling ureteral stents and can identify patients when overdue.
Highlights
Ureteral double-J (DJ) stent placement is one the most common procedures in daily urological practice
The DJ stent placement is indicated in the treatment of urolithiasis, to relieve benign or malign obstruction, to promote ureteral healing and manage urinary leak (1)
Most DJ stents are inserted for temporary purposes and need to be removed on maximal safe life depending on their production material
Summary
Ureteral double-J (DJ) stent placement is one the most common procedures in daily urological practice. The DJ stent placement is indicated in the treatment of urolithiasis, to relieve benign or malign obstruction, to promote ureteral healing and manage urinary leak (1). Most DJ stents are inserted for temporary purposes and need to be removed on maximal safe life depending on their production material. Approximately 12% of all ureteral DJ stents are retained or forgotten (2). These forgotten ureteral stents (FUS) may lead to infection, migration, encrustation and fragmentation (3, 4). El-Faqih et al reported that encrustation occurred in 9.2% of the stents under ibju | Smartphone - based stent tracking application
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