Percutaneous Nephroureteral Stent Placement and Antegrade Forceps Biopsy of Ureteral Obstruction

To evaluate the feasibility of percutaneous transluminal ureteral biopsy (PTUB) combined with percutaneous nephroureteral stent placement for ureteral obstruction under fluoroscopy.

From September 2011 to July 2021, 37 patients (27 men and 10 women; median age, 65.0 years) who experienced ureteroscopic biopsy failure or refused or were unable to undergo ureteroscopic biopsy underwent PTUB for ureteral obstruction during nephroureteral stent placement under fluoroscopic guidance. Data on technical success, early adverse events, and radiation dose were collected. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value (NPV), and overall accuracy (OA) of PTUB were analyzed.

The technical success of PTUB was 89.2%, with a mean irradiation dose of 76.9 mGy·cm² ± 12.2. A total of 67.6% (25/37) of the cases were correctly diagnosed with malignancy, whereas 8 cases were confirmed to be true negatives. There were 4 false negatives and no false positives. PTUB had a sensitivity, specificity, PPV, NPV, and OA of 86.2% (25/29), 100% (8/8), 100% (25/25), 66.7% (8/12), and 89.2% (33/37), respectively. Eleven patients (29.7%) experienced Grade 1 adverse events (transient aggravated hematuria).

PTUB appears to be a safe and effective alternative to ureteroscopic biopsy for ureteral obstruction.