Severe haemorrhage after extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy: radiological evaluation

Impact of Extracorporeal Shock Wave Lithotripsy (ESWL) on Kidney Length and Corticomedullary Differentiation in Patients With Renal Stones: A Case-Control Study

Background The effect of extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL) on kidney morphology was evaluated sonographically in patients with renal stones. This study aimed to investigate the effects of ESWL on the kidneys after consecutive sessions. Methods This case-control study included adult participants from December 2018 to August 2022 in three major centers of ESWL treatment. Data were collected from 392 patients (336 treated with ESWL and 56 in the control group). Data were analyzed using SPSS Statistics (IBM Corp., Armonk, USA). Both binary logistic regression and generalized linear regression were applied to determine the factors that predicted the effect of ESWL on kidney length (KL) and cortico-medullary differentiation (CMD). Results The overall effect of ESWL treatment on patients with renal stones was observed in 19.9% disturbed CMD, and 11.6% decreased parenchymal thickness. KL was significantly decreased in patients exposed to ESWL compared to controls (9.103 vs.10.291 cm, p-value < .001). KL decreased significantly as the number of ESWL sessions increased (r = -.209, p-value < .001). After adjustment, the frequencies of ESWL and hydronephrosis were significantly associated with CMD distortion. Patients who were exposed to more than one ESWL session had 2.64 increased odds of distorted CMD as compared to controls (AOR=2.64, 95% CI = 1.040-6.683), and those with hydronephrosis had 1.70 increased odds of distorted CMD as compared to controls (AOR=1.70, 95% CI = 1.188-2.434). Conclusion ESWL significantly affected the renal length and CMD in patients with renal stones. The frequency of ESWL sessions significantly decreased KL and disturbed CMD in patients with renal stones. The outcome was not affected by the number of stones.

Simultaneous Photoacoustic Imaging and Cavitation Mapping in Shockwave Lithotripsy

Kidney stone disease is a major health problem worldwide. Shockwave lithotripsy (SWL), which uses high-energy shockwave pulses to break up kidney stones, is extensively used in clinic. However, despite its noninvasiveness, SWL can produce cavitation in vivo. The rapid expansion and violent collapse of cavitation bubbles in small blood vessels may result in renal vascular injury. To better understand the mechanism of tissue injury and improve treatment safety and efficiency, it is highly desirable to concurrently detect cavitation and vascular injury during SWL. Current imaging modalities used in SWL ( e.g. , C-arm fluoroscopy and B-mode ultrasound) are not sensitive to vascular injuries. By contrast, photoacoustic imaging is a non-invasive and non-radiative imaging modality that is sensitive to blood, by using hemoglobin as the endogenous contrast. Moreover, photoacoustic imaging is also compatible with passive cavitation detection by sharing the ultrasound detection system. Here, we have integrated shockwave treatment, photoacoustic imaging, and passive cavitation detection into a single system. Our experimental results on phantoms and in vivo small animals have collectively demonstrated that the integrated system is capable of capturing shockwave-induced cavitation and the resultant vascular injury simultaneously. We expect that the integrated system, when combined with our recently developed internal-light-illumination photoacoustic imaging, will find important applications for monitoring shockwave-induced vascular injury in deep tissues during SWL.

Long-term effects of pediatric extracorporeal shockwave lithotripsy on renal function

Introduction

Extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL) is a well-known and successful treatment modality. In addition, it can be used in premature infants. ESWL is used to treat kidney and ureter stones in children. However, although it is a preferred noninvasive treatment in that setting, there is debate about its long-term effects on growing kidneys in children.

Objectives

To investigate the long-term effects of pediatric ESWL on renal function in light of updated literature.

Methods

PubMed and Medline were searched for studies on ESWL in a pediatric population with keywords including efficacy, child, kidney calculi, ureter calculi, lithotripsy, injury, vascular trauma, and shock waves. The research was limited to the English literature during a period from 1980 to 2014. In total, 3,000 articles were evaluated, but only 151 papers were considered. Only the manuscripts directly related to the reviewed subjects were included in the current study.

Results

However, the acute effects of ESWL in kidney are well-described. Although there are limited studies on the long-term effects of ESWL in children, there is a widespread opinion that ESWL is not affecting renal functions in the long-term.

Conclusion

ESWL is a safe, effective, and noninvasive treatment option in children. Although ESWL can cause some acute effects in the kidney, there is no long-term effect on the growing kidneys of children.

The acute and long-term adverse effects of shock wave lithotripsy

Shock wave lithotripsy (SWL) has proven to be a highly effective treatment for the removal of kidney stones. Shock waves (SWs) can be used to break most stone types, and because lithotripsy is the only noninvasive treatment for urinary stones, SWL is particularly attractive. On the downside SWL can cause vascular trauma to the kidney and surrounding organs. This acute SW damage can be severe, can lead to scarring with a permanent loss of functional renal volume, and has been linked to potentially serious long-term adverse effects. A recent retrospective study linking lithotripsy to the development of diabetes mellitus has further focused attention on the possibility that SWL may lead to life-altering chronic effects. Thus, it appears that what was once considered to be an entirely safe means to eliminate renal stones can elicit potentially severe unintended consequences. The purpose of this review is to put these findings in perspective. The goal is to explain the factors that influence the severity of SWL injury, update current understanding of the long-term consequences of SW damage, describe the physical mechanisms thought to cause SWL injury, and introduce treatment protocols to improve stone breakage and reduce tissue damage.

Extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy and percutaneous nephrolithotomy

This article reviews the basic anesthetic considerations for ESWL and PCNL. General principles governing the operation of lithotripters, elements of treatment that impinge on safety, and effective intraoperative anesthesia and complications that may be encountered in the perioperative period are discussed. Factors influencing blood loss and concerns arising from positioning patients prone are addressed in the sections devoted to PCNL.