Does preoperative silodosin administration facilitate ureteral dilatation during flexible ureterorenoscopy? A randomized clinical trial.

PURPOSE: To assess whether preoperative administration of silodosin can facilitate the placement of ureteral access sheath (UAS) prior to flexible ureteroscopy (F-URS) and reduce the occurrence of ureteric injury in challenging cases.

METHODS

This prospective randomized clinical trial was carried out on 147 patients diagnosed with upper ureteric stone or stone kidney, non-stented. The patients were randomly divided into two equal groups. Group A (silodosin group) included patients in whom F-URS was done with daily preoperative intake of 8 mg silodosin for 1 week and group B (placebo/control group) included patients in whom F-URS was done with daily preoperative intake of placebo tablets.

RESULTS

In group A, a total of 23 (33.3%) experienced ureteral wall injury following UAS insertion, while in group B, this occurred in 40 patients (59.7%). There was a statistically significant difference in the grade of ureteral wall injury between the two groups (P < 0.001). In the multiple regression analysis, age, operative time and silodosin were found to be significant risk factors for ureteral wall injury (P = 0.007, 0.041 and < 0.001, respectively).

CONCLUSIONS

The administration of silodosin prior to retrograde intrarenal surgery (RIRS) effectively prevented significant ureteral wall damage and reduced initial postoperative discomfort.