Aim: To examine the medical costs of simple versus complicated ureteral stent removal. Materials & methods: We included adults with kidney stones undergoing simple or complicated cystoscopy-based stent removal (CBSR) post ureteroscopy from the 2014 to 2018 Merative™ MarketScan® Commercial Database. The medical costs of patients with complicated and simple CBSR were compared. Results: Among 16,682 patients, 2.8% had complicated CBSR. Medical costs for patients with complicated CBSR were higher than for simple CBSR ($2182 [USD] vs $1162; p < 0.0001). Increased stenting time, increased age, southern US geography and encrusted stent diagnoses were significantly associated with complicated CBSR. Conclusion: Complicated ureteral stent removal doubled the medical costs associated with CBSR. Ureteral stents with anti-encrustation qualities may reduce the need for complicated CBSR and associated costs.
Journal of comparative effectiveness research. 2022 Oct 19 [Epub ahead of print]
Khurshid R Ghani, Sirikan Rojanasarot, Ben Cutone, Samir K Bhattacharyya, Amy E Krambeck
Department of Urology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI 49109, USA., Boston Scientific, Marlborough, MA 01752, USA., Department of Urology, Northwestern University School of Medicine; Chicago, IL 60093, USA.