Combined Ultrasonic-Pneumatic Lithotripsy Reduces Operation Time, Hospital Stay in Staghorn Calculi, without Affecting Clearance

Abstract

Objective: To compared ultrasonic and pneumatic lithotripsy for staghorn renal calculi, focusing on operation time, hospital stay, stone clearance rates, and patient-specific factors like age, gender, BMI, and disease characteristics.
Material and Methods: We retrospectively analyzed staghorn renal calculi patients treated at our institution
from 15 March to 15 August 2023. Patients were separated into two groups: Group I (33 patients) received
ultrasonic and pneumatic lithotripsy, and Group II (33 patients) received pneumatic alone. Operation time,
hospital stay, and stone clearance were key outcomes. Secondary outcomes explored how patient
demographics and illness variables affected primary outcomes. Statistical analysis used independent t-tests
and chi-square tests, with a significance threshold of P<0.05.
Results: The study included 66 patients 33 in Group I and 33 in Group II. Compared to Group II, Group I had
considerably shorter mean surgery times and hospital stays across all patient demographics and stone types
(P<0.001 and P≤0.02, respectively). Stone clearance rates were similar between groups (P>0.05), indicating
similar stone-free effectiveness. Despite differences in operation timeframes and hospital stays, patient-
specific factors did not affect stone clearance rates between groups.
Conclusion: Patients with staghorn renal calculi benefit from ultrasonic and pneumatic lithotripsy, which
reduces operation duration and hospital stay without affecting stone clearing performance. These findings
imply that the combination method may improve patient recovery and procedure efficiency. To optimize
treatment outcomes, lithotripsy technique selection should also include patient and disease characteristics.
Long-term results and cost-effectiveness of various lithotripsy methods need more study.