Measuring quality of life in patients with kidney stone disease: is it the future in endourology?

Abstract

Purpose of review Kidney stone disease is recognized to negatively impact quality of life. This pertains to acute episodes, surgical interventions and even during asymptomatic periods. Over time there has been increased attention towards assessing this subjective parameter, including as a determinant of treatment success. Our aim was to evaluate the current status and emerging trends in this field. Recent findings Patient groups most affected appear to be recurrent stone formers, cystine stone formers, women, younger populations, non-Caucasians and low-income populations. Several stone specific patient reported outcome measures are now available of which, WISQol has been implemented the most in clinical research studies. More invasive interventions such as percutaneous nephrolithotomy impede quality of life to greater extent than alternatives such as shockwave lithotripsy. Summary There are certain patient groups who are more vulnerable to the negative impact of kidney stone disease on their quality of life. Urologists can improve patient care by recognizing these particular populations as well as by implemented patient reported outcome measures in their routine clinical practice and when performing research.

Patient experiences and perceptions of kidney stone surgery: what lessons can be learned from TikTok?

“…However, the merits of this novel study include that it assesses the patient perspective as opposed to the content posted by health care professionals ( 13 ). Given the relative low volume of research focused on quality of life compared to those evaluating objective outcomes, studies such as this one that offer a new means to gauge patient experiences are arguably welcomed ( 3 ). More prospective studies of a qualitative nature are needed to explore patient experiences and perceptions of kidney stone surgery.…”

“…Traditional outcome measures of interest have been largely focused on objective parameters such as stone free rate and complications. However, in the recent era, patient experience and the impact on quality of life related to surgery has been appreciated more (3)(4)(5). Research across a number of surgical fields has highlighted how patients use social media (SoMe) as a platform to share their views regarding their experiences related to surgical treatment (6,7).…”

Endo-technology and its future: where are we heading?

“…In this special Endo-Technology issue, we have seven wide ranging articles covering a wide spectrum of varying aspects of clinical urology [1,2]. There is now a plethora of technological innovations in the management of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) with minimally invasive surgical therapies (MIST) including Rezum and Urolift [3,4].…”