The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Urinary Stone Disease and Treatment Outcomes

Objective: This study aims to evaluate the characteristics of patients with urinary stone disease before and during the pandemic and to assess the impact of the pandemic on diagnosis-to-treatment intervals and treatment outcomes. Materials and Methods: Medical records, laboratory values and radiological images of patients who underwent ureterolithotripsy, retrograde intrarenal surgery and percutaneous nephrolithotomy for ureteral and renal stones before and during the pandemic were retrospectively analysed. Pregnant women and patients under the age of 18 were excluded from the study. The patients’ demographic data, number of stones, stone size, stone location, hydronephrosis, impacted stones, creatinine levels, duration of surgery, stone-free rates, hospital stay, complication rates and diagnosis-to-treatment intervals before and during the pandemic were compared. Results: A total of 162 patients with ureteral stones and 129 patients with kidney stones were included in the study. During the pandemic, complication rates and diagnosis-to-treatment intervals were considerably higher in patients with kidney and ureteral stones. Furthermore, the presence of impacted stones for ureteral stones and the presence of hydronephrosis for kidney stones emerged as predictors of complications. Conclusions: During the pandemic, delays were observed in the diagnosis and treatment of patients with both renal and ureteral stones. This delay negatively affected the patients’ clinical characteristics at presentation (hydronephrosis) and surgical outcomes (complication rates). Therefore, patients with urolithiasis should be prioritised in exceptional situations, such as pandemics.