Infectious Complications, Healthcare Resource Use, and Medical Costs Associated with Delays in Percutaneous Nephrolithotomy Among Patients with Stone Disease and Ureteral Stent Placement.

Purpose: The relationship between ureteral stent duration before percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL) and infectious complications, admissions, imaging, and medical costs was evaluated. Materials and Methods: Patients who underwent PCNL within 6 months of ureteral stent placement were identified from commercial claims, categorized by time to treatment (0-30, 31-60, and >60 days), and followed 1-month post-PCNL. The effect of delayed treatment on inpatient admissions, infectious complications (pyelonephritis/sepsis), and imaging utilization was evaluated with logistic regression. A generalized linear model evaluated the effect of delayed treatment on medical costs. Results: Among 564 patients with PCNL and meeting the inclusion criteria (mean age 50; 55% female; 45% from South), mean (standard deviation) time to surgery was 48.8 (41.8) days. Less than half (44.3%; n = 250) underwent PCNL within 30 days of ureteral stent placement, 27.0% (n = 152) between 31 and 60 days, and 28.7% (n = 162) >60 days. Time to PCNL was significantly associated with inpatient admissions (>60 vs ≤30 days odds ratio [OR] 1.97, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.29-3.01, p = 0.0016), infectious complications (>60 vs ≤30 days OR 2.43, 95% CI 1.55-3.81, p = 0.0001), imaging utilization (31-60 vs ≤30 days OR 1.56, 95% CI 1.02-2.38, p = 0.0383; >60 vs ≤30 days OR 2.01, 95% CI 1.31-3.06, p = 0.0012), and medical costs (31-60 vs ≤30 days OR 1.27, 95% CI 1.08-1.49, p = 0.0048; >60 vs ≤30 days OR 1.46, 95% CI 1.24-1.71, p < 0.0001). Conclusions: Compared with PCNL within 30 days, patients undergoing PCNL >30 days after ureteral stent placement had increased likelihood of infectious complications, resource use, and medical costs. These results may inform health care resource utilization and PCNL prioritization.

Prevalence of Stone Disease and Procedure Trends in the United States.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the prevalence of stone disease and procedure trends among US commercial and Medicare populations. METHODS: Retrospective analyses for a US commercial population and Medicare population were conducted using the Merative MarketScan Commercial Database and Medicare Standard Analytic File (5% sample), respectively. Patients aged 18+ were included if they had an encounter in any setting with a primary stone diagnosis or stone procedure (ureteroscopy [URS], percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL), or shockwave lithotripsy [SWL]) between 2011 and 2019. Analyses were conducted at the patient level. RESULTS: Over the study time horizon, the prevalence of stone disease showed a small yet statistically significant decrease in the commercial population (1.04%-1.01%; P.ß<.ß0.0001) and a statistically significant increase in the Medicare population (1.84%-2.34%; P.ß<.ß0.0001). URS.ßprocedure volumes increased by 22.6% (P.ß<.ß0.0001) in the commercial population and by 56.6% (P.ß<.ß0.0001) in the Medicare population over the study period. Similarly, PCNL.ßprocedure volumes increased by 17.4% (P.ß<.ß0.0001) in the commercial population and 27.5% (P.ß<.ß0.0001) in the Medicare population. Procedure volumes for SWL decreased by 26.9% in the commercial population (P.ß<.ß0.0001) and by 3.8% in the Medicare population although the results were not statistically significant. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of stone disease showed a small decrease in the US commercial population and an increase in the Medicare population over the study time horizon. In both populations, increasing procedure volumes were observed for URS and PCNL while decreasing volumes were observed for SWL.

Delays in Ureteroscopy and Shockwave Lithotripsy After Ureteral Stent Placement: Impact on Infectious Complications, Resource Use, and Medical Costs.

Purpose: To evaluate the effects of ureteral stent duration before ureteroscopy (URS) or extracorporeal shockwave lithotripsy (SWL) on infectious complications, health care resource utilization (HCRU), and costs. Materials and Methods: Patients who underwent URS/SWL within 6months of ureteral stent placement were identified from commercial claims, categorized by time from stent placement to URS (0-15, 16-30, 31-60, and >60 days) or SWL (0-15, 16-30, and >30 days), and followed 1-month postprocedure. The relationship between ureteral stent duration and emergency department (ED) visits, inpatient admissions, infectious complications (pyelonephritis/sepsis), imaging, and costs was evaluated. Results: Mean time to URS (n = 9276 patients) was 21.3 ± 24.4 days and SWL (n = 4689 patients) was 19.0 ± 24.8 days. Compared with patients who underwent URS within 15 days of ureteral stent placement, URS 31 to 60 days after ureteral stent placement was significantly associated with inpatient admissions (odds ratio [OR] 2.56, 95% confidence interval [CI] 2.03-3.22); infectious complications (OR 2.82, 95% CI 2.09-3.81); imaging (OR 2.12, 95% CI 1.82-2.46); and medical costs (OR 1.49, 95% CI 1.40-1.58). Compared with patients who underwent SWL within 15 days of ureteral stent placement, SWL more than 30 days after ureteral stent placement was significantly associated with ED visits (OR 1.79, 95% CI 1.37-2.34); inpatient admissions (OR 3.34, 95% CI 2.38-4.69); infectious complications (OR 3.54, 95% CI 2.20-5.70); imaging (OR 2.65, 95% CI 2.23-3.15); and medical costs (OR 1.45, 95% CI 1.36-1.54). Conclusions: URS or SWL >30 days after ureteral stent placement increased the likelihood of infectious complications, HCRU, and medical costs.

Long-Term Risk of Surgery Following First Diagnosis of Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia in Middle-Aged Men.

Objective Pharmacotherapy is often used to relieve lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) due to benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), yet surgery may be indicated for persistent bothersome symptoms. BPH is common among older men, yet the burden of BPH among middle-aged men may be under-recognized. This study examined the 5-year risk of BPH surgery among middle-aged men following the first BPH diagnosis. Methods Using the IBM MarketScan Commercial Claims and Encounters Database, males aged 35 to 64 years with a first-time primary diagnosis of BPH who were prescribed oral medication for LUTS were identified. The primary outcome was the risk of BPH surgery within five years of the first BPH diagnosis, which was analyzed using Kaplan-Meier methods. The influence of patient demographics, comorbidities, and medication use on the risk of BPH surgery was explored using a Cox proportional hazards model.  Results Four thousand five hundred ten eligible men, 460 underwent BPH surgery within five years of BPH diagnosis. The most common surgical procedures were transurethral resection of the prostate and laser enucleation. The risk of BPH surgery over five years following BPH diagnosis was 10.2% (95% CI: 9.4% to 11.1%). In a multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression analysis, patient age was the primary factor associated with higher surgery risk. Compared to men aged 35 to 44 years, the hazard ratio for BPH surgery was 3.9 (95% CI: 1.9 to 8.4; p<0.001) among men aged 45 to 54 years, and 5.0 (95% CI: 2.4 to 10.6; p<0.001) among men aged 55 to 64 years. Conclusions In middle-aged men prescribed oral medication for LUTS secondary to BPH, the risk of BPH surgery was 10.2% over five years. This risk may be underappreciated and highlights the clinical need for surgical procedures with favorable risk-to-benefit profiles.

The Economic Burden of Cystoscopy-Based Ureteral Stent Removal in the United States: An Analysis of Nearly 30,000 Patients.

INTRODUCTION: Ureteral stents are commonly placed after ureteroscopy. We examined the rate of cystoscopy-based stent removal (CBSR) following ureteroscopy for stone disease and its economic burden in the United States. METHODS: Adults undergoing ureteroscopy and stenting (index surgery) for stone disease between 2014 and 2018 were identified using the IBM® MarketScan® Commercial Database. Patients were categorized as those with CBSR or without CBSR within 6 months post-index surgery. Rate and location of CBSR were assessed. To estimate the economic burden of CBSR, medical costs (2019 U.S. dollars) paid by insurers were calculated at 6 months post-index surgery. A generalized linear model examined the association of CBSR with total costs adjusting for patient characteristics. RESULTS: Among 29,535 patients meeting the inclusion criteria, 56.5% had CBSR within 6 months. Median time to CBSR was 9 days; 70% of patients with CBSR had their stent removed in the office. Medical costs for CBSR patients were significantly higher than those for nonCBSR patients ($7,808 vs $6,231; p <0.0001). The difference was driven by the cost of CBSR ($1,132 vs $0; p <0.0001) and health care utilization for stone disease ($2,464 vs $2,121; p <0.0001). CBSR was associated with a 17% increase in medical costs compared to nonCBSR (OR: 1.17; 95% CI 3.03, 3.46). CONCLUSIONS: Over 50% of patients had CBSR within 6 months following ureteroscopy. Medical costs for patients undergoing CBSR were significantly higher and driven by the cost of CBSR and resource utilization for stone disease. Ureteral stents that avoid CBSR can lower medical costs to the health care system.