Longitudinal Changes in Quality of Life after Ureteroscopy for Nephrolithiasis.

To assess alterations in health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in patients with nephrolithiasis, given the limited prospective data on patient reported outcomes following surgical intervention with ureteroscopy.

Adults with either a renal or ureteral calculus who underwent ureteroscopy (URS) were recruited prospectively from 2017-2020. Participants completed the PROMIS-29 profile which measures the dimensions of physical function, fatigue, pain interference, depressive symptoms, anxiety, ability to participate in social roles and activities, and sleep disturbance at enrollment, 1-, 6-, and 12-months. Scores are reported as T-scores (normalized to US-population) and were compared at each time point against the mean for the US-population (50) using one-sample Welch's T-test and between each pairwise time point comparison using a Wilcoxon signed rank test.

At enrollment, a total of 69 participants completed the PROMIS-29 survey. As compared to the US-population mean, participants at enrollment had significantly different scores in physical function, fatigue, pain interference, depressive symptoms, anxiety, and sleep disturbance (all p<0.05), but not ability to participate in social roles and activities. In pairwise comparisons, improvement was only observed from enrollment to 1-month in pain interference (p<0.01) and fatigue (p=0.03). However, there was improvement at a longer interval from enrollment to 12-months in all dimensions (pairwise comparisons, all p<0.05) except depressive symptoms.

The PROMIS-29 profile is responsive to changes in HRQOL for patients with nephrolithiasis undergoing URS, with improvement of PROMIS scores up to 12-months. This information can be utilized for patient counseling to guide expectations during the recovery period.

Urology. 2022 Sep 01 [Epub ahead of print]

Colin D Sperling, Raju Chelluri, Ryan W Dobbs, Ruchika Talwar, George Lin, Hanna Stambakio, Justin B Ziemba

Division of Urology, Department of Surgery, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA. Electronic address: ., Division of Urology, Department of Surgery, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA. Electronic address: ., Division of Urology, Department of Surgery, Cook County Health & Hospitals System, Chicago, IL. Electronic address: ., Division of Urology, Department of Surgery, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA. Electronic address: ., Division of Urology, Department of Surgery, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA. Electronic address: ., Division of Urology, Department of Surgery, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA. Electronic address: ., Division of Urology, Department of Surgery, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA. Electronic address: .