Bladder stone (BS) is a rare disease curable with several options. Herein, we reviewed the specific literature in order to update the current BS management.
A comprehensive systematic MEDLINE search was performed for English language reports published before April 2017 using the BS related terms, i. e. bladder-vesical calculi, lithotripsy. Then manuscripts references were screened to identify unfounded studies. Studies regarding BS in children were excluded.
Retrieved studies were classified according to their main item as: etiology, diagnosis, treatment, treatment in specific illnesses and advances in BS management. Treatment option was mainly related to stone size and number as well as concomitant causative disease. However, stone nature was not analyzed in all the retrieved studies. Both trans-urethral and percutaneous lithotripsy were efficacy for stone fragmentation although the last one was suggested to avoid urethral injuries. Holmiun:Yag Laser lithotripsy has made stone fragmentation feasible by using local anesthesia however in selected patients only. The urological dogma to perform concomitant prostate surgery in men with BS has been recently questioned by some observational case-series studies however, the lack of randomization and long follow up preserve that knowledge.
Bladder stone is a rare and ancient disease. Nowadays new technologies have been developed in the effort to make less invasive stone treatment. The retrieved studies show that stone fragmentation can be archived by using several surgical approaches and devices whereas comparative randomized studies are still unavailable to identify the best option.
Minerva urologica e nefrologica = The Italian journal of urology and nephrology. 2017 Oct 11 [Epub ahead of print]
Antonio Cicione, Cosimo DE Nunzio, Stefano Manno, Rocco Damiano, Alessandro Posti, Estevao Lima, Andrea Tubaro, Filippo Balloni
Urology Unit, Ospedale Città di Castello, ASL Umbria 1, Città di Castello, Perugia, Italy - ., Department of Urology, Ospedale Sant'Andrea, "La Sapienza" University, Rome, Italy., Urology Unit, Magna Graecia University of Catanzaro, Catanzaro, Italy., Urology Unit, Ospedale Città di Castello, ASL Umbria 1, Città di Castello, Perugia, Italy., Life and Health Sciences Research Institute, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal.