Combination ESWL and extracorporeal physical vibration lithotripsy found safe, efficacious

A combination of extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL) and extracorporeal physical vibration lithotripsy was found to be safe and efficacious in patients with ureteral stones, according to a study presented at the 2022 American Urological Association Annual Meeting in New Orleans, Louisiana.¹

Using the random number table method, the investigators, led by Han Yang, divided 60 patients with ureteral stones who visited the investigators’ institution between June 2019 and November 2020 into a test group and a control group. Each group included 50 cases. Patients in the control group underwent extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy, whereas the test group received ESWL combined with extracorporeal physical vibration lithotripsy. The investigators compared lithotripsy rate, completion time, pain relief time, hospitalization time and complications between the 2 groups.

At 2, 3, and 5 weeks after surgery, the stone removal rate was higher in the test group vs the control group (P < .05). In addition, stone removal time, pain relief time, and hospitalization time were shorter in the test group compared with the control group (P < .05). Finally, patients in the test group had a lower incidence of complications compared with the control group (P < .05).

“The combination of extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy and extracorporeal physical vibration lithotripsy can promote stone expulsion, shorten stone evacuation, pain and hospitalization time, and has high safety,” the authors wrote in their conclusion.

Discussing the abstract in a video interview with Urology Times, Amy E. Krambeck, MD, said the study was “interesting, mainly because this concept has been around for an extremely long time… They found that the stone free rates at 2, 3, and 5 weeks after surgery were significantly higher in the vibration therapy group vs shockwave alone. They also found fewer complications in the vibration therapy group versus shockwave or loan,” said Krambeck, professor of urology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, Illinois.

Reference

1. Yang H, Li X, Wang K. Effect of extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy combined with extracorporeal physical vibration lithotripsy in the treatment of patients with ureteral calculi. J Urol. 2022;207(5S):e1042-1043. doi:10.1097/JU.0000000000002670.04