Does alkalinised urine reduce the rate of encrustation in patients with ureteric stents? A randomised controlled study.

PURPOSE: Stent encrustation is not uncommonly encountered with a high number of ureteric stents. The exact pathophysiology is not well understood. Therefore, we investigated the relationship between the use of sodium citrate and likelihood of stent encrustation.

METHODS

This prospective, randomised, intervention study was conducted between October 2018 and October 2019 in a tertiary hospital. Overall, 115 patients with ureteral stents that were inserted after lithotripsy surgeries were recruited. The study subjects were randomised into two groups: one group was administered sodium citrate (Utix sachets) three times per day until stent removal (intervention group), and the second group was not administered Utix sachets (control group). Stents were removed after 1 month and inspected under macroscopic visualisation from the proximal to distal end for any crystallisation; a second inspection was done with a 60 × magnification lens. Any crystallisation observed was considered to be encrustation.

RESULTS

Patients who had Utix sachets post-insertion of a ureteric stent constituted 50.4% of the study cohort. The rate of encrustation in the control group was 52.6%. In the intervention group, the rate of encrustation was 46.6%. The difference was not statistically significant with the chi-squared test (p value, 0.514).

CONCLUSION

Alkaline citrate medications had no significant effect on stent encrustation rate. More studies are needed to elucidate different agents and their roles in reducing stent encrustation as it incurs high morbidity.