Single use and reusable flexible ureteroscopies for the treatment of urinary stones: A comparative study of perioperative complications

Objective: To compare the perioperative complications of patients who underwent flexible ureteroscopy (fURS) for the treatment of urinary stones according to the type of ureteroscope used, single-use (suURS) or reusable (rURS) flexible ureteroscope.

Patients and methods: A retrospective and single-center study was conducted between January 2017 and May 2019, including all fURS performed for nephrolithiasis management. During the study period, 5rURS and 1suURS (UscopePU3022™) were available. The primary endpoint was the occurrence of 30-days postoperative complications, especially infectious complications, classified according to Clavien-Dindo grading system.

Results: Overall, 322 consecutive fURS were included corresponding to 186 rURS (57.8%) and 136 suURS (42.2%). Respectively in rURS and suURS groups, the median (IQR) age was 57 (45-65) vs. 57 (44-66) years (P=0.75), 83 (44.6%) vs. 63 (46.3%) female were included (P=0.82), and median (IQR) Charlson score was 2 (1-3) vs. 2 (0-3) (P=0.15). Fifty-one patients (15.8%) developed postoperative complications, 28 patients (15%) in rURS group and 23 patients (17.6%) in suURS group (P=0.64). Most of them (n=47, 92.1% of overall complications) were minor (Clavien I-II). Occurrence of urinary tract infection in suURS group (n=13; 9.5%) was equally comparable with rURS group (n=10; 5.4%), P=0.15.

Conclusions: Our data suggests that suURS represents a safe alternative to rURS. Compared to reusable devices, UscopePU3022™ use was associated with a similar complication rates, however, did not decrease the occurrence of infectious events.

Level of evidence: 3.