Abstract
OBJECTIVES: To investigate whether skin-to-stone distance (SSD), which remains controversial in patients with ureter stones, can be a predicting factor for one session success following extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL) in patients with upper ureter stones. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 1,519 patients who underwent their first ESWL between January 2005 and December 2013. Among these patients, 492 had upper ureter stones that measured 4-20 mm and were eligible for our analyses. Maximal stone length, mean stone density (HU), and SSD were determined on pretreatment non-contrast computed tomography (NCCT). For subgroup analyses, patients were divided into four groups. Group 1 consisted of patients with SSD<25th percentile, group 2 consisted of patients with SSD in the 25th to 50th percentile, group 3 patients had SSD in the 50th to 75th percentile, and group 4 patients had SSD≥75th percentile. RESULTS: In analyses of group 2 patients versus others, there were no statistical differences in mean age, stone length and density. However, the one session success rate in group 2 was higher than other groups (77.9% vs. 67.0%; P = 0.032). The multivariate logistic regression model revealed that shorter stone length, lower stone density, and the group 2 SSD were positive predictors for successful outcomes in ESWL. Using the Bayesian model-averaging approach, longer stone length, lower stone density, and group 2 SSD can be also positive predictors for successful outcomes following ESWL. CONCLUSIONS: Our data indicate that a group 2 SSD of approximately 10 cm is a positive predictor for success following ESWL.