Trends in urological stone disease

Abstract

Study Type – Therapy (case series) Level of Evidence 4 What's known on the subject? and What does the study add? Urolithiasis is a major clinical and economic burden for health care systems. International epidemiological data suggest that the incidence and prevalence of stone disease is increasing. This study demonstrates that the number of diagnoses and procedures relating to kidney stone disease has increased significantly in the last 10 years in the UK. Management of stone disease comprises a significant and increasing proportion of urological practice in the UK, which has implications for work force planning, training, service delivery and research in this field. OBJECTIVE To summarize the changes in prevalence and treatment of upper urinary tract stone disease in the UK over the last 10 years. METHODS Data from the Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) website (http://www.hesonline.nhs.uk) were extracted, summarized and presented. RESULTS The number of upper urinary tract stone hospital episodes increased by 63% to 83 050 in the 10‐year period. The use of shock wave lithotripsy (SWL) for treating all upper tract stones increased from 14 491 cases in 2000–2001 to 22 402 cases in 2010 (a 55% increase) with a 69% increase in lithotripsy for renal stones. There was a 127% increase in the number of ureteroscopic stone treatments from 6 283 to 14 242 cases over the 10‐year period with a 49% increase from 2007/2008 to 2009/2010. There was a decline in open surgery for upper tract stones from 278 cases in 2000/2001 to 47 cases in 2009/2010 (an 83% reduction). Treatment for stone disease has increased substantially in comparison with other urological activity. In 2009/2010, SWL was performed almost as frequently as transurethral resection of the prostate or transurethral resection of bladder tumour, ureteroscopy for stones was performed more frequently than nephrectomy, radical prostatectomy and cystectomy combined, and percutaneous nephrolithotomy was performed more frequently than cystectomy. CONCLUSIONS The present study highlights the increase in prevalence and treatment of stone disease in the UK over the last 10 years. If this trend continues it has important implications for workforce planning, training, service delivery and research in the field of urolithiasis.

Renal stones and calcifications in patients with primary hyperparathyroidism: associations with biochemical variables

“…Primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT) is a common disease with a population prevalence traditionally estimated to be 0.1-0.4% (1,2,3), previously estimated to be 0.1-0.4% (2,4) and recently up to 0.7% (5,6). The diagnostic incidence has increased considerably after the introduction of multichannel biochemistry.…”

The S.T.O.N.E. Score: A new assessment tool to predict stone free rates in ureteroscopy from pre-operative radiological features

“…The total cost of treating stones in the US currently exceeds five billion dollars annually (2). With this increase in incidence and the cost of healthcare continuing to rise, new approaches to stone disease may be necessary.…”

“…The prevalence of stone disease is increasing not only in the United States, but worldwide (1,2). The total cost of treating stones in the US currently exceeds five billion dollars annually (2).…”

Management of renal Stones for the non-specialist

“…2 With this trend likely to continue initial diagnosis, investigations and management of simple renal stones are increasingly performed by the non-specialist and so it is important for them to be aware of the latest evidence. We review the latest evidence for management below.…”