Kidney Stones

"The great news is that we have now completed recruitment. We actually recruited more than 1700 patients," says Kari A.O. Tikkinen, MD, PhD.

Per Kaplan-Meier estimates, 95.6% of patients who underwent SURE were free of health care consumption events by 12 months, compared with 83.5% of patients who underwent URS.

"I think the patients that benefit the most are patients that have certain types of stones that potentially are much harder to treat with some of the more minimally invasive types of procedures," says John Michael DiBianco, MD.

In preclinical studies, META-001-PH demonstrated the ability to reduce urinary oxalate excretion by up to 80%.

"You definitely need to be very adaptable. You have to have a great team," says John Michael DiBianco, MD.

"Kidney stone treatment is all about access," says Joseph Song, MD.

“With the support of the pediatric department and the pediatric urologists I work very closely with, we've been very successful in identifying the right patients,” says John Michael DiBianco, MD.

Data showed that Hispanic patients were consistently underrepresented in clinical trials, while Black participants tended to be overrepresented.

"Stones that recur in children happen about 40% to 50% of the time. That's why the American Urological Association guidelines recommend doing a complete metabolic evaluation in all children," says Katherine Chan, MD, MPH.

“Our final goal is to shift from an episodic care to continuous patient follow-up, allowing us to better understand and manage the evolution of patients over the time,” says Juan Fulla, MD, MSc.

"One day, we're going to have to move away from fee for service, so we'd be wise to try to navigate those waters ahead of time, so we're not left dealing with the aftermath when someone else has implemented it for us," says Ruchika Talwar, MD.

“For us, this approach has the potential to transform the prevention and management of urolithiasis, making health care more precise and personalized,” says Juan Fulla, MD, MSc.

"Anytime we do a PCNL...we always get a CT scan. That's pretty standard," says John Michael DiBianco, MD.

"Certainly, anybody who is a recurrent stone former, or of a young age when they develop their first stone, they automatically get a 24-hour urine test," says Joseph Song, MD.

"As I like to say, 'They are little people with small stones that cause big problems,' " says Katherine Chan, MD, MPH.

"We found that as we got better and better at doing it, the majority of patients now can go home in this fashion. They can go home the day of the procedure with nothing in them," says Mantu Gupta, MD.

"It's my opinion that no patient population benefits more from a miniaturized technique than a pediatric patient," says John Michael DiBianco, MD.

"One of the biggest considerations we have in imaging pediatric patients is radiation exposure," says Katherine Chan, MD, MPH.

"Kidney stones in children are quite a bit different than in adults," says Katherine Chan, MD, MPH.

"This clearance in the US of our new ureteroscopy solution not only demonstrates a market expansion for Ambu; it is a testament to the progressive shift towards single-use solutions within the field of urology," says Britt Meelby Jensen.

"Pediatric patients do have a somewhat heterogeneous or variable presentation of their stone disease. A lot of that is dependent upon their age," says Katherine Chan, MD, MPH.

"We provide surgical treatments for kidney stones, and we also help patients manage their stones medically; for example, helping them perhaps with spontaneous passage of their stones," says Katherine Chan, MD, MPH.

"[The care plan] incorporates patient-specific data to reinforce dietary management, fluid intake, and medication adherence based on the patient's 24-hour urine collection results," says Jenny Guo, MD.

Regarding patient-reported outcomes, those who underwent URS showed higher urinary symptoms, greater pain intensity, and greater pain interference at 1 week following surgery compared with those who underwent SWL.

"I would say the take-home message is that usage of this mobile health platform could potentially improve patient quality of life and compliance with recommendations," says Jenny Guo, MD.

"We found that the GetWell patients have shown increases in their Wisconsin Stone Quality of Life scores, or the WISQOL score, of about 3 points from baseline to 6 months," says Jenny Guo, MD.

"[The care plan] incorporates patient-specific data to reinforce dietary management, fluid intake, and medication adherence based on the patient's 24-hour urine collection results," says Jenny Guo, MD.

“We found that the SAPS is associated with higher intrarenal pressure and flow rate when compared to automated pumps," said Lucas B. Vergamini, MD.

Combination treatment with burst wave lithotripsy and ultrasonic propulsion for small, asymptomatic renal stones is feasible.

“I cannot overstate the impact of this device on my management of kidney stone patients," says J. Stuart Wolf, Jr., MD, FACS.