Feasibility and outcome of emergency ureteroscopic removal of lower ureteral stone under intravenous sedation: A prospective study

Ureteroscopy under conscious sedation: A proof-of-concept study

INTRODUCTION

Ureteroscopy (URS) is commonly performed under general anesthesia (GA) to maximize patient tolerability and minimize surgical complications; however, given the improvements in endoscopic technology and risks associated with GA, alternate forms of anesthesia have been postulated. We aimed to evaluate the outcomes of URS under conscious sedation.

METHODS

We completed a retrospective cohort study from November 2019 to June 2020 at a tertiary-level hospital. All URSs that were performed under urologist-directed conscious sedation were included. Our primary outcome was the ability to complete URS, defined as success rate. Secondary outcomes included: stone-free rate, intraoperative complication rate, hospital admission rate, and sedation requirement. Univariate- and multivariate-adjusted logistic regression analyses were employed.

RESULTS

Ninety-nine URSs were included. Most (73/99, 73.7%) were performed for urolithiasis. The overall success rate was 83.8% (83/99), with 81.0% (34/42) intra-renal and 70.0% (16/23) proximal ureter success rates. The stone-free rate was 80.8% (59/73). No intraoperative complications nor hospital admissions were reported. The mean amount of sedation required was 3 mg (interquartile range [IQR] 2-4] of midazolam and 100 μg (100-150) of fentanyl. On multivariate analysis, midazolam was significantly associated with increased success (odds ratio 2.496, 95% confidence interval 1.057-5.892, p=0.037).

CONCLUSIONS

We have shown that proximal and intrarenal URS under conscious sedation is safe and effective. We were limited by our lack of followup, small sample size, selection bias to chose healthy patients, and lack of patient tolerability data. Patients and healthcare systems may benefit from implementing this innovation more broadly.

Outcomes of loco-regional anaesthesia in ureteroscopy for stone disease: a systematic review

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

Routine ureteroscopy (URS) for stone disease is performed under a general anaesthesia. However, controversy exists on the role of loco-regional anaesthesia and the outcomes associated with it. Here we review the challenges, outcomes and complications of loco-regional anaesthesia for URS. A Cochrane style review was performed in accordance with the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses guidelines to evaluate the outcomes of loco-reginal anaesthesia for URS in stone disease, including all English language articles from January 1980 and December 2019.

RECENT FINDINGS

Twenty-one studies (1843 procedures) with a mean age of 46 years and a male : female ratio of 1.2 : 1 underwent URS under loco-regional anaesthesia. The mean stone size was 9 mm (range:4-21 mm) and except five papers, all other papers included stones in the ureter of which the majority were in the distal ureter. The conversion to general anaesthesia was needed in 2.7% patients (range 1-21%) across studies, with a stone free rate of 48-100%. The complication rate varied from 1.4 to 36%. Although the intraoperative complications included ureteric injury (n = 21) or perforation (n = 4), the postoperative complications included fever (n = 37), urinary tract infection (n = 20), haematuria (n = 4), urosepsis (n = 4) and others (n = 7).

SUMMARY

The present systematic review shows that local anaesthetic URS is a potential alternative to general anaesthetic URS in carefully selected patients. Randomised controlled trials with subgroup analysis are required to further assess whether loco-regional anaesthesia URS is noninferior to general anaesthesia URS and might help determine if the former approach should become more widespread.