[Can selective alpha-blockers help the spontaneous passage of the stones located in the uretero-bladder junction?]

The majority of ureteral stones at presentation in hospital are located within the distal ureter. Knowing that only half of the stones 4 to 5.9 mm will pass spontaneously, we tried to see: if we can facilitate this elimination for the stones smaller than 8 mm by selectve alpha-blockers (alfuzosin and tamsulosin) which induce relaxation of the smooth muscle of uretrotrigonal area and if there is any difference between these two drugs, concerning efficiency and tolerance. The inclusion criteria for each group were: stone size between 4 and 8 mm--even patients with steinstrasse--and previous, at least 2 weeks of expulsion treatment with nonsteroidal antiinflammatory and antispasmodic agents and Rowatinex. The results were encouraging: almost all the patients eliminated the stones without any pain in the first 5-10 days of treatment (only two patients from alfuzosin group did not tolerate this drug). We believe that both alfuzosin and tamsulosin have a crucial impact in spontaneous painless elimination of the stones smaller than 8 mm located in the uretero-bladder junction.