[Extracorporeal shockwave lithotripsy in patients with coagulation disorders]

During treatment of renal lithiasis with extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL) hemorrhagic events, especially renal hematoma, may present. A coagulation study is warranted in order to institute hemotherapy for blood factor deficiencies. We reviewed the records of 4,000 patients that had undergone ESWL. Of these, 17 (12 males, 5 females) presented coagulation disorders. The bleeding diatheses were due to platelet deficiency in 6 cases, plasma defects in 5, platelet and plasma disorders in 2, and capillary wall defects in 5 cases. The underlying cause was hepatosplenic disease in 12 cases, iatrogenic in 1, connectivopathy and corticoids in 2, and capillary purpura of unknown cause in 2 cases. Due to this protocol, no patient presented hemorrhage or hematoma from shock wave-induced lesions. These results show that a complete coagulation study must be performed in order to institute the necessary measures in patients with disorders of hemostasis due to the high risk of hematoma repeatedly reported in the literature.