Pain Perception During Shock Wave Lithotripsy: Does It Correlate With Patient and Stone Characteristics?

• Published in: Journal of the Chinese Medical Association Vol. 73; no. 9; pp. 477 - 482
• Main Authors: Tokgöz, Hüsnü, Hanci, Volkan, Türksoy, Özlem, Erol, Bülent, Akduman, Bülent, Mungan, Necmettin Aydin
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands Elsevier B.V 01-09-2010
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; body mass; Female; gender; Humans; Internal Medicine; Kidney Calculi - physiopathology; Kidney Calculi - therapy; lithotripsy; Lithotripsy - adverse effects; Male; Middle Aged; pain; Pain Perception; Prospective Studies; Ureteral Calculi - physiopathology; Ureteral Calculi - therapy; urinary stones; pain; gender; lithotripsy; body mass; urinary stones
• ISSN: 1726-4901; 1728-7731
• DOI: 10.1016/S1726-4901(10)70102-7

Background To investigate the correlation of various clinical parameters [number of shock wave lithotripsy (SWL) sessions, body mass index, patient age, gender, and stone characteristics] with pain perception during the SWL procedure. Methods A total of 88 patients who underwent 165 SWL sessions for renal or ureteral stones in our institution were included in the study. The degree of pain perception during the procedure was evaluated with a 10-point visual analog scale. Results A significant p value was reached when the cut-off value for stone burden was taken as 100 mm2 . Mean pain scores during the SWL procedures were affected by gender and the number of SWL sessions. However, they were not affected by laterality, patient age, body mass index, and location of stones. Conclusion Our results suggest that patient comfort is better during the first SWL session than in the following sessions for renal or ureteral stones with a stone burden of less than 100 mm2 . In addition, severity of pain during SWL treatment may be better tolerated in males than in females.