Single use and reusable flexible ureteroscopies for the treatment of urinary stones: A comparative study of perioperative complications

Summary Objective To compare the perioperative complications of patients who underwent flexible ureteroscopy (fURS) for the treatment of urinary stones according to the type of ureteroscope used, single-use (suURS) or reusable (rURS) flexible ureteroscope. Patients and methods A retrospective and single-center study was conducted between January 2017 and May 2019, including all fURS performed for nephrolithiasis management. During the study period, 5rURS and 1suURS (UscopePU3022™) were available. The primary endpoint was the occurrence of 30-days postoperative complications, especially infectious complications, classified according to Clavien-Dindo grading system. Results Overall, 322 consecutive fURS were included corresponding to 186 rURS (57.8%) and 136 suURS (42.2%). Respectively in rURS and suURS groups, the median (IQR) age was 57 (45–65) vs. 57 (44–66) years (P = 0.75), 83 (44.6%) vs. 63 (46.3%) female were included (P = 0.82), and median (IQR) Charlson score was 2 (1–3) vs. 2 (0–3) (P = 0.15). Fifty-one patients (15.8%) developed postoperative complications, 28 patients (15%) in rURS group and 23 patients (17.6%) in suURS group (P = 0.64). Most of them (n = 47, 92.1% of overall complications) were minor (Clavien I–II). Occurrence of urinary tract infection in suURS group (n = 13; 9.5%) was equally comparable with rURS group (n = 10; 5.4%), P = 0.15. Conclusions Our data suggests that suURS represents a safe alternative to rURS. Compared to reusable devices, UscopePU3022™ use was associated with a similar complication rates, however, did not decrease the occurrence of infectious events. Level of evidence 3.