TY - JOUR
T1 - Ureteral Wall Thickness Is an Effective Predictor of Ureteral Stone Impaction and Management Outcomes
T2 - A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis
AU - Dean, Nicholas S.
AU - Millan, Braden
AU - Uy, Michael
AU - Albers, Patrick
AU - Campbell, Sandra M.
AU - Krambeck, Amy E.
AU - De, Shubha
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 Lippincott Williams and Wilkins. All rights reserved.
PY - 2023/9/1
Y1 - 2023/9/1
N2 - Purpose:Ureteral stone impaction is associated with unfavorable endourological outcomes; however, reliable predictors of stone impaction are limited. We aimed to assess the performance of ureteral wall thickness on noncontrast computed tomography as a predictor of ureteral stone impaction and failure rates of spontaneous stone passage, shock wave lithotripsy, and retrograde guidewire and stent passage.Materials and Methods:This study was completed in accordance with the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses) guidelines. A search was conducted in April 2022 for all adult, human, and English language studies investigating ureteral wall thickness using PROSPERO, OVID Medline, OVID EMBASE, Wiley Cochrane Library, Proquest Dissertations & Theses Global, and SCOPUS. A systematic review and meta-analysis using random effects model was conducted. Risk of bias was assessed using the MINORS (Methodological Index for Non-randomized Studies) score.Results:Fourteen studies with a pooled population of 2,987 patients were included for quantitative analysis, and 34 studies were included in our qualitative review. Meta-analysis findings suggest that a thinner ureteral wall thickness is associated with more favorable subgroup stone outcomes. Thinner ureteral wall thickness suggests a lack of stone impaction and was associated with improved rates of spontaneous stone passage, successful retrograde guidewire and stent placement, and improved shock wave lithotripsy outcomes. Studies lack a standardized ureteral wall thickness measurement protocol.Conclusions:Ureteral wall thickness is a noninvasive measure that predicts ureteral stone impaction, and thin measurements are predictive of successful outcomes. Variability in measurement methods confirms that a standardized ureteral wall thickness protocol is needed, and the clinical utility of ureteral wall thickness is yet to be determined.
AB - Purpose:Ureteral stone impaction is associated with unfavorable endourological outcomes; however, reliable predictors of stone impaction are limited. We aimed to assess the performance of ureteral wall thickness on noncontrast computed tomography as a predictor of ureteral stone impaction and failure rates of spontaneous stone passage, shock wave lithotripsy, and retrograde guidewire and stent passage.Materials and Methods:This study was completed in accordance with the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses) guidelines. A search was conducted in April 2022 for all adult, human, and English language studies investigating ureteral wall thickness using PROSPERO, OVID Medline, OVID EMBASE, Wiley Cochrane Library, Proquest Dissertations & Theses Global, and SCOPUS. A systematic review and meta-analysis using random effects model was conducted. Risk of bias was assessed using the MINORS (Methodological Index for Non-randomized Studies) score.Results:Fourteen studies with a pooled population of 2,987 patients were included for quantitative analysis, and 34 studies were included in our qualitative review. Meta-analysis findings suggest that a thinner ureteral wall thickness is associated with more favorable subgroup stone outcomes. Thinner ureteral wall thickness suggests a lack of stone impaction and was associated with improved rates of spontaneous stone passage, successful retrograde guidewire and stent placement, and improved shock wave lithotripsy outcomes. Studies lack a standardized ureteral wall thickness measurement protocol.Conclusions:Ureteral wall thickness is a noninvasive measure that predicts ureteral stone impaction, and thin measurements are predictive of successful outcomes. Variability in measurement methods confirms that a standardized ureteral wall thickness protocol is needed, and the clinical utility of ureteral wall thickness is yet to be determined.
KW - extracorporeal shockwave therapy
KW - nephrolithiasis
KW - tomography
KW - ureteral calculi
KW - x-ray computed
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U2 - 10.1097/JU.0000000000003561
DO - 10.1097/JU.0000000000003561
M3 - Review article
C2 - 37232694
AN - SCOPUS:85167481552
SN - 0022-5347
VL - 210
SP - 430
EP - 437
JO - Journal of Urology
JF - Journal of Urology
IS - 3
ER -