NATIONAL RATES AND RISK FACTORS FOR STENT FAILURE IN PATIENTS WITH OBSTRUCTED, INFECTED UPPER TRACT STONES

Abstract

Ureteral stent decompression for an infected obstructed urinary tract secondary to urolithiasis is almost always effective. For a small proportion of patients, stent failure will occur and will require the placement of a nephrostomy tube. Stent failure is associated with male gender, stone location, and renal failure. Salvage percutaneous nephrostomies for these patients occur most frequently in urban teaching hospitals. Of note, this study was limited by the presumption that coding for a PCN after stent placement indicated stent failure, which could not be verified because of the inherent limitations of the dataset.