TY - JOUR
T1 - Improved stone quality of life in patients with an obstructing ureteral stone on alpha-blocker medical expulsive therapy
AU - Talamini, Susan
AU - Wong, Daniel
AU - Phillips, Tarik
AU - Palka, Joshua
AU - Vetter, Joel
AU - Chow, Alexander
AU - Paradis, Alethea
AU - Desai, Alana
AU - Sands, Kenneth
AU - Nottingham, Charles
AU - Venkatesh, Ramakrishna
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V. 2023.
PY - 2024/4
Y1 - 2024/4
N2 - Purpose: Though controversial, alpha blockers are used widely for ureteral stone passage. However, its effects on the patient-reported Quality of life (QOL) is unknown. We compared the QoL of patients on alpha-blocker medical expulsive therapy (MET) to patients not on MET (noMET) utilizing the validated Wisconsin Stone Quality of Life (WISQOL). Methods: This prospective study included patients prescribed either MET or noMET after presentation with symptomatic, obstructing ureteral stones. The treatment arm was decided at the point of care by the initial treating physician and included analgesia and antiemetics. Tamsulosin (0.4 mg daily) was prescribed for the MET group. The WISQOL survey was administered at baseline, 7-, 14-, 21- and 28-days following discharge from the ED or until stone expulsion. Results: 197 patients were enrolled, of which 116 (59.2%) completed questionnaires for analysis, 91 in the MET group and 25 in noMET. Average ureteral stone size was 4.7 mm (SD 1.8) and 3.1 mm (SD 1.0) for MET and noMET, respectively. Of completed surveys, 105 (90%) were completed at day 7, 67 (57.6%) at day 14, 53 (45.7%) at day 21, and 40 (34.5%) at day 28. MET was associated with improved QoL scores across all WISQOL domains compared to noMET. Stone size, age, race, sex, comorbidity score and a prior stone history were not associated with reduced QoL. Conclusions: The use of MET was associated with improved QOL on all WISQOL metrics compared to noMET patients. Improved stone QOL may be an indication of alpha-blocker therapy in patients with ureteral stone colic.
AB - Purpose: Though controversial, alpha blockers are used widely for ureteral stone passage. However, its effects on the patient-reported Quality of life (QOL) is unknown. We compared the QoL of patients on alpha-blocker medical expulsive therapy (MET) to patients not on MET (noMET) utilizing the validated Wisconsin Stone Quality of Life (WISQOL). Methods: This prospective study included patients prescribed either MET or noMET after presentation with symptomatic, obstructing ureteral stones. The treatment arm was decided at the point of care by the initial treating physician and included analgesia and antiemetics. Tamsulosin (0.4 mg daily) was prescribed for the MET group. The WISQOL survey was administered at baseline, 7-, 14-, 21- and 28-days following discharge from the ED or until stone expulsion. Results: 197 patients were enrolled, of which 116 (59.2%) completed questionnaires for analysis, 91 in the MET group and 25 in noMET. Average ureteral stone size was 4.7 mm (SD 1.8) and 3.1 mm (SD 1.0) for MET and noMET, respectively. Of completed surveys, 105 (90%) were completed at day 7, 67 (57.6%) at day 14, 53 (45.7%) at day 21, and 40 (34.5%) at day 28. MET was associated with improved QoL scores across all WISQOL domains compared to noMET. Stone size, age, race, sex, comorbidity score and a prior stone history were not associated with reduced QoL. Conclusions: The use of MET was associated with improved QOL on all WISQOL metrics compared to noMET patients. Improved stone QOL may be an indication of alpha-blocker therapy in patients with ureteral stone colic.
KW - Endourology
KW - Medical expulsive therapy
KW - Nephrolithiasis
KW - Quality of Life
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85176722047&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s11255-023-03865-x
DO - 10.1007/s11255-023-03865-x
M3 - Article
C2 - 37971642
AN - SCOPUS:85176722047
SN - 0301-1623
VL - 56
SP - 1289
EP - 1295
JO - International Urology and Nephrology
JF - International Urology and Nephrology
IS - 4
ER -