The Increased Risk of Complicated Ureteral Stones in the Era of COVID-19 Pandemic.
J Endourol
; 34(8): 882-886, 2020 08.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-646432
ABSTRACT
Background:
Ureteral stone disease may be an emergent condition if the appropriate management is not performed in a timely manner. As the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) continues to spread globally, isolation and restriction orders taken by the governments have become the cores to control the pandemic. In this study, we, therefore, aimed to investigate the ureteral stone presentations in a high-volume university hospital during the COVID-19 restriction order period. Materials andMethods:
The data of 149 patients who were hospitalized due to ureteral stone both during the COVID-19 pandemic restriction period and the corresponding period (non-COVID-19) of the previous year were collected and analyzed retrospectively. Unpaired Student's t-test was used to compare continuous variables. The categorical data were assessed using Chi-square and Fisher's exact tests.Results:
Of 149 patients, 35 were hospitalized in the COVID-19 restrictions period. While the mean age and the stone characteristics of the two groups did not differ significantly, serum creatinine levels (1.9 ± 1.85 vs 1.15 ± 0.64) and the white blood cell counts (12.45 ± 6.54 vs 8.21 ± 4.15) at hospital admission were significantly higher in the COVID-19 restrictions group (p = 0.034 and p = 0.005, respectively). According to the priority classification recommendations of the European Urology Guidelines Office Rapid Reaction Group for urolithiasis applicable during the COVID-19 pandemic, a significant difference was observed between the two periods (X2 = 9.907, p = 0.019). In particular, the rate of emergency cases was found more than threefold in the COVID-19 period. Although there was no significant difference in terms of the grade of hydronephrosis at hospital admission between the two groups, the rates of grade 3 and 4 hydronephrosis were higher in the COVID-period group (1.8- and 3.3-fold, respectively).Conclusion:
The rate of complicated ureteral stone disease significantly increased during the COVID-19 restrictions period. Urologists should prioritize the patients most in need of urgent care during COVID-19-like biosocial crisis.Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Pneumonia, Viral
/
Coronavirus Infections
/
Urolithiasis
Type of study:
Experimental Studies
/
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
/
Randomized controlled trials
Limits:
Adult
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
/
Middle aged
Country/Region as subject:
Asia
Language:
English
Journal:
J Endourol
Journal subject:
Urology
Year:
2020
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
End.2020.0658
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