Could spinal anesthesia be a choice for retrograde intrarenal surgery

Area of Science:

• Urology
• Anesthesiology

Background:

• Retrograde intrarenal surgery (RIRS) is a common procedure for kidney stones.
• Anesthesia choice for RIRS can impact patient outcomes and costs.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the efficacy and outcomes of RIRS under spinal anesthesia versus general anesthesia.
• To investigate parameters including pain, hospitalization, and cost-effectiveness.

Main Methods:

• A randomized controlled prospective study of 86 patients undergoing RIRS for kidney stones.
• Patients were divided into two groups: 43 under spinal anesthesia and 43 under general anesthesia.
• Comparison of demographic data, operative parameters, complications, pain scores, hospitalization, stone-free rates, and cost-value ratios.

Main Results:

• No significant differences were observed in demographic features, stone-free rates, complication rates, or hospitalization periods between the groups.
• Spinal anesthesia group showed statistically significant lower postoperative visual analogue scale scores (pain) and cost-value ratios.
• p-values indicated no significant differences for most parameters, but p < 0.001 for pain and cost-value ratio differences.

Conclusions:

• Spinal anesthesia is an equally effective alternative to general anesthesia for RIRS.
• Spinal anesthesia presents advantages with significantly lower postoperative pain and treatment costs.
• This suggests spinal anesthesia may be a more advantageous anesthetic choice for RIRS.