Objective: To use a validated questionnaire to compare indwelling ureteral stent symptoms in patients who had the ureteral stent placed during renal transplantation with patients who had retrograde insertion of the stent in a native kidney during endoscopic procedures.
Methods: Symptoms related to the presence of a ureteral stent were assessed prospectively in the two patient groups. Just before stent removal, patients completed a validated Ureteral Stent Symptom Questionnaire evaluating urinary symptoms, body pain, general health, work performance, and sexual function. Categorical scores and individual factors were qualitatively and statistically compared between the two groups.
Results: Twenty-eight (15 men and 13 women) patients (mean age 56, range 72-32) underwent renal transplantation with ureteral stents removed after a mean of 41 days (range 9-81). Seventeen (4 men and 13 women) patients (mean age 43, range 73-17) had ureteral stents placed in native kidneys for other indications with subsequent removal after a mean of 24 days (range 6-61). The transplant group had statistically fewer urinary symptoms (p = 0.001), pain symptoms (p < 0.001), better overall health index (p = 0.005), and improved quality of work (p = 0.008). Transplant patients complained of fewer urinary symptoms (urgency, dysuria, dribbling, and hematuria), required less additional antibiotic use, and had fewer additional clinic or hospital visits.
Conclusions: Ureteral stents inserted during renal transplantation result in significantly fewer symptoms when compared with stents inserted in the native ureter. This, in part, may be because of less trigonal irritation by the stent when the ureteral implantation is in the dome of the bladder.