An Innovative Study to Evaluate the Treatment Efficiency of Percutaneous Nephrolithotomy by DEA

Abstract

The aim of this study was to measure the treatment efficiency of percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PNL) patients by Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA), as a novel method with an output minimizing model. Urinary stone disease is a frequent problem with increasing prevalence in recent years. Depending on the location and size, the treatment of renal stone 2 cm or more is surgical and PNL. In this context, a retrospective study in which 154 patients with kidney stones over 2 cm was conducted. Some biochemical perioperative and postoperative characteristics of patients (Sodium (NA), potassium (K), creatinine (CRE), and hemoglobin (HB) and stone area) were analyzed. Contrary to classical DEA theory, a novel output minimization model with uncontrollable output was proposed, then Malmquist analysis was used to find out the difference between patients according to gender and age. The decomposition of the index revealed that no remarkable difference within decision-making units clearly, however between age and gender groups the results were quite different. This is a new research concept, and it can be suggested to develop alternative treatment modalities for PNL by gender, age, or various groups.