Tubeless percutaneous nephrolithotomy for geriatric patients.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the safety of tubeless percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL) in geriatric patients.


METHODS
This is a retrospective review of 401 patients who received tubeless PCNL in a single institute. Among these, 50 were performed in patients aged older than 70 years (group 1), while 351 were performed in the remaining younger patients (group 2).


RESULTS
There was no significant difference in stone size between the 2 groups (3.6 +/- 1.9 vs. 3.5 +/- 2.0 cm). The average operative time was similar in both groups (92.8 +/- 34.5 vs. 86.6 +/- 32.0 min). The stone-free rate in groups 1 and 2 was 68.0% (34/50) and 83.8% (294/351), respectively, which was statistically significantly different. The average postoperative hospital stay was longer in group 1 (4.6 +/- 3.4 days) than in group 2 (3.9 +/- 2.5 days), but the difference was not statistically significant. There was no significant difference in postoperative urinary tract infection rate and blood transfusion rate in both groups (urinary tract infection: 18.0 vs. 8.8%; blood transfusion: 4 vs. 2.6%). Two patients in group 1 and 3 patients in group 2 experienced pulmonary complications. There was no other severe complication.


CONCLUSIONS
Tubeless PCNL is a safe procedure for the treatment of geriatric patients with urolithiasis.
Jou
Yeong-chin
YC
Department of Urology, Chiayi Christian Hospital, Chiayi, Taiwan.
Lin
Chang-te
CT
Shen
Cheng-huang
CH
Cheng
Ming-chin
MC
Chen
Pi-che
PC
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D006299:Health Services for the Aged; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009403:Nephrostomy, Percutaneous / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000379:methods*; D018579:Patient Selection; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D018570:Risk Assessment; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D052878:Urolithiasis / Q000628:therapy*