Metabolic evaluation guidelines in patients with nephrolithiasis: Are they being followed? Results of a national, multi-institutional, quality-assessment study

Is stone free status really necessary for metabolic evaluation following stone removal procedures?

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the impact of stone free status on the outcomes of metabolic evaluation in recurrent stone formers after ureteroscopic stone removal.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

A total of 78 patients undergoing retrograde intrarenal surgery (RIRS) for renal stones were included and cases were divided into two groups after 4 weeks based on the NCCT findings. While cases in the Group 1 (n = 54) was completely stone free, cases in Group 2 (n = 24) had residual fragments in the kidney. A full 24-h urine analysis for relevant stone forming risk factors has been performed after 4 weeks following the fURS procedures in all patients of both groups. Outcomes of metabolic evaluation (24-h urine and serum) have been comparatively evaluated in both groups.

RESULTS

Evaluation of the preoperative serum and urine stone forming risk factors revelaed no statistical difference in both groups. Comparative evaluation of the 24-h urinary stone forming risk factors also revealed no statistically significant difference between preoperative and postoperative findings in cases of Group 2 with residual stones. Last but not least, no significant difference was observed between the mean preoperative and postoperative serum variables between two groups.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results show that in the light of the similar metabolic evaluation outcomes obtained in cases with and without residual fragments, 'stone free status' may not be an essential factor to perform a detailed metabolic evaluation (24-h urine analysis and serum parameters) after endourological stone removal procedures.

Attitudes of urologists on metabolic evaluation for urolithiasis: outcomes of a global survey from 57 countries

Although stone disease is an important health problem with high incidence and recurrence rates, it is a preventable disease. Attitudes and practices of urologists regarding the prevention of recurrence continue to be a subject of debate. In this context, an online survey study was conducted involving 305 urologists from 57 different countries. The first 7 questions collected demographic data about the urologists and the remaining 23 questions were about the recurrence and metabolic evaluation, medical treatment, and follow-up of urinary stone disease. Most urologists (85.2%) thought that metabolic examination was important. Approximately one-third of the participants (34.1%) performed 24-hour urine analysis and stone analysis was ordered by 87.5% of the urologists. Metabolic analysis was performed for all patients by 14.7% of the participants. For pediatric patients this rate was 68.5%, and for adults with recurrence the rate was 81.6%. Reasons cited by the urologists for not performing metabolic analysis included not feeling confident doing so (18.3%), having limited facilities in their hospital (26.5%), having an excessive daily workload (31.8%), patient-related factors (27.5%), and referring patients to other departments for metabolic evaluation (20.9%). Although majority of the responding urologists do consider the metabolic analysis as vital important, they seemed not to be willing to perform these tests with the same degree of enthusiasm in their daily practice. Our results show that urologists need support in performing and interpreting 24-hour urine analysis, improving their knowledge levels, and communicating with patients. Urology residency training should focus more on the prevention of urinary stone recurrence in addition to the surgical training.

Acidification of 24-hour urine in urolithiasis risk testing: An obsolete relic?

BACKGROUND

Recommendations on the optimal preservation of 24 h urine for the metabolic work-up in urolithiasis patients are very heterogeneous. In case two such tests with different storage condition recommendations are being analysed, multiple collections would be needed, challenging especially elderly and very young patients. We therefore aimed to evaluate the stability of urine constituents under different storage conditions.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

We collected urine samples from ten healthy volunteers and prepared aliquots to be stored either at room temperature or 4 °C. Some aliquots were preserved using hydrochloric acid prior to storage, some thereafter, some using the BD Urine preservation tube and some were not preserved at all. Storage duration was 0, 24, 48 or 72 h. In all samples calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, creatinine, oxalate, citrate and uric acid were measured and compared to the according reference sample.

RESULTS

We could not find any significant deviation for any of the analytes and preanalytical treatment conditions compared to the associated reference sample.

CONCLUSION

Preservation of 24 h urine for the metabolic evaluation in stone formers might not be necessary for sample storage up to 72 h.

Inappropriate use of clinical practices in Canada: a systematic review

Background:

Inappropriate health care leads to negative patient experiences, poor health outcomes and inefficient use of resources. We aimed to conduct a systematic review of inappropriately used clinical practices in Canada.

Methods:

We searched multiple bibliometric databases and grey literature to identify inappropriately used clinical practices in Canada between 2007 and 2021. Two team members independently screened citations, extracted data and assessed methodological quality. Findings were synthesized in 2 categories: diagnostics and therapeutics. We reported ranges of proportions of inappropriate use for all practices. Medians and interquartile ranges (IQRs), based on the percentage of patients not receiving recommended practices (underuse) or receiving practices not recommended (overuse), were calculated. All statistics are at the study summary level.

Results:

We included 174 studies, representing 228 clinical practices and 28 900 762 patients. The median proportion of inappropriate care, as assessed in the studies, was 30.0% (IQR 12.0%–56.6%). Underuse (median 43.9%, IQR 23.8%–66.3%) was more frequent than overuse (median 13.6%, IQR 3.2%–30.7%). The most frequently investigated diagnostics were glycated hemoglobin (underused, range 18.0%–85.7%, n = 9) and thyroid-stimulating hormone (overused, range 3.0%–35.1%, n = 5). The most frequently investigated therapeutics were statin medications (underused, range 18.5%–71.0%, n = 6) and potentially inappropriate medications (overused, range 13.5%–97.3%, n = 9).

Interpretation:

We have provided a summary of inappropriately used clinical practices in Canadian health care systems. Our findings can be used to support health care professionals and quality agencies to improve patient care and safety in Canada.