Contributing factors for fever after tubeless percutaneous nephrolithotomy

To evaluate the contributing factors for fever after tubeless percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL).

Between May 2009 and December 2013, 395 tubeless PCNLs were performed at our hospital. After stone extraction, the bleeding points were cauterized for hemostasis to enable tubeless modification. In patients with troublesome bleeding after cauterization, oxidized regenerated cellulose (Surgicel) strips were used to tamponade the access tract to facilitate bleeding control. The contributory factors for fever were evaluated by a retrospective chart review.

Forty-four patients (11.7%) developed fever after tubeless PCNL. There was no difference in gender, age, and body mass index in the development of fever. Episodes of febrile or septic urinary tract infection before PCNL were found to have occurred in 35 patients, but the incidence of postoperative fever was not significantly higher in these patients. There is no significant difference in the mean stone size in fever and nonfever patients. Complete staghorn stones were noted in 40 patients, and their fever rate was not significantly higher than patients with nonstaghorn stone. The operation time is not significantly higher in the group with urinary tract infection. Patients with postoperative fever had a high incidence of residual stones than the remaining patients (38.9% vs 20.4%). There was no significant difference in incidence of postoperative fever in patients with struvite stones than patients with nonstruvite stones. In patients who received Surgicel packing, the incidence of fever was not significantly higher.

Incomplete stone extraction is a major contributing factor for the development of fever after tubeless PCNL.