Ureteral stents are essential implants that are used on a daily basis. Since their invention, advances in stent design have been directed towards alleviating stent-related symptoms. It remains unclear how the material composition of the stent affects stent-related symptoms.
To review the literature and define the clinical impact of ureteral stent material on stent-related symptoms.
A literature search of the Embase, MEDLINE (PubMed), and Web of Science databases was conducted on December 17, 2021 to collect articles comparing stent composition materials regarding stent-related symptoms. Thirteen publications met the inclusion criteria, of which only one met the high-quality requirements of the Cochrane Collaboration tool for assessing the risk of bias in randomized trials.
Most trials, including the highest quality trial, seem to support that silicone double-J (DJ) stents reduce stent-related symptoms compared to nonsilicone DJ stents. Regarding physical properties, it seems that "soft" or "flexible" DJ stents reduce stent-related symptoms. However, since there was only one high-quality study with a low risk of bias, it is impossible to draw a definitive conclusion owing to the lack of quality data.
Silicone DJ stents, and by extension "soft" DJ stents, appear to reduce stent-related symptoms compared to nonsilicone polymers and "hard" DJ stents. No definitive conclusion can be drawn owing to a lack of quality evidence. Creating a standard for measuring and reporting physical stent properties should be the first step for further research.
A ureteral stent is a small hollow tube placed inside the ureter to help urine drain from the kidney. We reviewed the literature on the impact of stent material on stent-related symptoms. We found that silicone may reduce stent-related symptoms, but no definitive conclusion can be drawn and further studies are needed.
European urology open science. 2022 Oct 19*** epublish ***
Matthias Boeykens, Etienne X Keller, Andrea Bosio, Oliver J Wiseman, Pablo Contreras, Eugenio Ventimiglia, Michele Talso, Amelia Pietropaolo, Thomas Tailly, Vincent De Coninck
Department of Urology, Universitair Ziekenhuis Brussel, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium., Department of Urology, University Hospital Zurich, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland., Department of Urology, Città della Salute e della Scienza, Molinette University Hospital, Turin, Italy., Urology Department, Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Cambridge, UK., Servicio de Urología, Hospital Alemán, Buenos Aires, Argentina., Young Academic Urologists Urolithiasis and Endourology Working Group, European Association of Urology, Arnhem, The Netherlands.