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Dombeck C, Scales CD, McKenna K, Swezey T, Harper JD, Antonelli JA, Desai AC, Lai HH, McCune R, Curatolo M, Al-Khalidi HR, Maalouf NM, Reese PP, Wessells H, Kirkali Z, Corneli A. Patients' Experiences With the Removal of a Ureteral Stent: Insights From In-depth Interviews With Participants in the USDRN STENTS Qualitative Cohort Study. Urology 2023; 178:26-36. [PMID: 37149059 PMCID: PMC10530092 DOI: 10.1016/j.urology.2023.04.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2023] [Revised: 04/04/2023] [Accepted: 04/18/2023] [Indexed: 05/08/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To describe the experiences of patients undergoing stent removal in the USDRN Study to Enhance Understanding of Stent-Associated Symptoms (STENTS), a prospective, observational cohort study of patients with short-term ureteral stent placement post-ureteroscopy. METHODS We conducted a qualitative descriptive study using in-depth interviews. Participants reflected on (1) painful or bothersome aspects of stent removal, (2) symptoms immediately after removal, and (3) symptoms in the days following removal. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, and analyzed using applied thematic analysis. RESULTS The 38 participants interviewed were aged 13-77 years, 55% female, and 95% White. Interviews were conducted 7-30 days after stent removal. Almost all participants (n = 31) described that they experienced either pain or discomfort during stent removal, but for most (n = 25) pain was of short duration. Many participants (n = 21) described anticipatory anxiety related to the procedure, and several (n = 11) discussed discomfort arising from lack of privacy or feeling exposed. Interactions with medical providers often helped put participants at ease, but also increased discomfort for some. Following stent removal, several participants described lingering pain and/or urinary symptoms, but these largely resolved within 24 hours. A few participants described symptoms persisting for more than a day post stent removal. CONCLUSION These findings on patients' experiences during and shortly after ureteral stent removal, particularly the psychological distress they experienced, identify opportunities for improvement in patient care. Clear communication from providers about what to expect with the removal procedure, and the possibility of delayed pain, may help patients adapt to discomfort.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carrie Dombeck
- Department of Population Health Sciences, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC
| | - Charles D Scales
- Department of Population Health Sciences, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC; Duke Clinical Research Institute, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC; Department of Surgery (Urology), Duke Surgical Center for Outcomes Research & Equity in Surgery, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC.
| | - Kevin McKenna
- Department of Population Health Sciences, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC
| | - Teresa Swezey
- Department of Population Health Sciences, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC
| | | | - Jodi A Antonelli
- Department of Surgery (Urology), Duke Surgical Center for Outcomes Research & Equity in Surgery, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC
| | - Alana C Desai
- Department of Surgery (Urologic Surgery), Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO
| | - H Henry Lai
- Department of Surgery (Urologic Surgery), Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO; Department of Anesthesiology, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO
| | | | - Michele Curatolo
- Department of Anesthesiology & Pain Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA
| | - Hussein R Al-Khalidi
- Duke Clinical Research Institute, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC; Department of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC
| | - Naim M Maalouf
- Department of Internal Medicine and Charles and Jane Pak Center for Mineral Metabolism and Clinical Research, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX
| | - Peter P Reese
- Department of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
| | - Hunter Wessells
- Department of Urology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA
| | - Ziya Kirkali
- National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, Bethesda, MD
| | - Amy Corneli
- Department of Population Health Sciences, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC; Duke Clinical Research Institute, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC
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Corneli A, Dombeck C, McKenna K, Harper JD, Antonelli JA, Desai AC, Lai HH, Tasian GE, Ziemba J, McCune R, Piskator B, Al-Khalidi HR, Maalouf NM, Reese PP, Wessells H, Kirkali Z, Scales CD. The Patient Voice: Stent Experiences After Ureteroscopy-Insights from In-Depth Interviews with Participants in the USDRN STENTS Nested Qualitative Cohort Study. J Endourol 2023; 37:642-653. [PMID: 37021358 PMCID: PMC10280172 DOI: 10.1089/end.2022.0810] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Purpose: Ureteral stents are commonly used after ureteroscopy and cause significant discomfort, yet qualitative perspectives on patients' stent experiences remain unknown. We describe psychological, functional, and interpersonal effects of post-ureteroscopy stents and whether additional patient-reported assessments may be needed. Materials and Methods: Using a qualitative descriptive study design, we conducted in-depth interviews with a nested cohort of participants in the STudy to Enhance uNderstanding of sTent-associated Symptoms (STENTS). Participants shared their symptoms with a post-ureteroscopy stent and described symptom bother and impact on daily activities. All interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, and analyzed using applied thematic analysis. During analysis, participants' experiences with interference in daily activities were categorized into three groups based on their impact: minimal, moderate, and substantial. Results: All 39 participants experienced pain, although descriptions varied and differentiated between feelings of pain vs discomfort. Almost all experienced urinary symptoms. Only a few reported other physical symptoms, although several psychological aspects were identified. In the areas of sleep, mood, life enjoyment, work, exercise, activities of daily living, driving, childcare, and leisure/social activities, the stent had little impact on daily living among participants placed in the minimal group (n = 12) and far greater impact for participants in the substantial group (n = 8). For patients in the moderate group (n = 19), some daily activities were moderately or substantially affected, whereas other activities were minimally affected. Conclusions: Counseling to better prepare patients for the impact of stent-associated symptoms may help mitigate symptom burden. While existing instruments adequately cover most symptoms, additional assessments for other domains, particularly psychological factors, may be needed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amy Corneli
- Department of Population Health Sciences, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, North Carolina, USA
- Duke Clinical Research Institute, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, North Carolina, USA
| | - Carrie Dombeck
- Department of Population Health Sciences, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, North Carolina, USA
| | - Kevin McKenna
- Department of Population Health Sciences, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, North Carolina, USA
| | - Jonathan D. Harper
- Department of Urology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
| | - Jodi A. Antonelli
- Department of Urology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, USA
| | - Alana C. Desai
- Department of Surgery (Urologic Surgery) and Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
| | - H. Henry Lai
- Department of Surgery (Urologic Surgery) and Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
- Department of Anesthesiology, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
| | - Gregory E. Tasian
- Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Justin Ziemba
- Department of Urology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Rebecca McCune
- Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Brooke Piskator
- Department of Urology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, USA
| | - Hussein R. Al-Khalidi
- Duke Clinical Research Institute, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, North Carolina, USA
- Department of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, North Carolina, USA
| | - Naim M. Maalouf
- Department of Internal Medicine and Charles and Jane Pak Center for Mineral Metabolism and Clinical Research, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, USA
| | - Peter P. Reese
- Department of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Hunter Wessells
- Department of Urology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
| | - Ziya Kirkali
- National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | - Charles D. Scales
- Department of Population Health Sciences, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, North Carolina, USA
- Duke Clinical Research Institute, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, North Carolina, USA
- Department of Surgery (Urology), Duke Surgical Center for Outcomes Research and Equity in Surgery, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, North Carolina, USA
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Oxenhandler RW, McCune R, Subtelney A, Truelove C, Tyrer HW. Flow cytometric determination of estrogen receptors in intact cells. Cancer Res 1984; 44:2516-23. [PMID: 6722791] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
Abstract
Flow cytometry has been used to detect estrogen receptor (ER) in intact cells, using 1-(N)- fluoresceinyl estrone thiosemicarbazone ( 17FE ), a ligand shown to have sufficient affinity and specificity to identify high-affinity receptors. For each concentration of 17FE , two fluorescent distributions were obtained: (a) "total" fluorescence due to 17FE alone; and (b) diethylstilbestrol-inhibited fluorescence ("nonspecific"). The mean fluorescence intensity for both the "total" (MT) and "nonspecific" (MN) distributions was calculated at each ligand concentration by obtaining the total brightness of each sample, normalized to the number of cells analyzed. A specific binding curve was constructed over a broad range of 17FE concentrations (1.5 X 10(-9) to7 .5 X 10(-7) M) by plotting the mean specific fluorescence intensity (MS = MT-MN) at each 17FE concentration. Saturable binding was demonstrated for a known ER-positive cell line (MCF-7) at low ligand concentrations (5 to 10 X 10(-8) M), while no specific binding was obtained for a known ER-negative cell line (MDA-231). The Kd was estimated from the specific binding curve of MCF-7 cells as the concentration of 17FE at half-maximal binding. When corrected for the binding activity relative to estradiol, a Kd of 18 X 10(-10) M was obtained. The flow cytometer-generated distributions give a qualitative estimate of the proportions of ER-rich and ER-poor cells. Quantitation of ER heterogeneity will require a mathematical algorithm expressing the difference between the "total" and "nonspecific" distributions. These studies demonstrate that flow cytometry and an appropriate ligand can detect and partially describe ER heterogeneity in intact cells.
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