Postoperative pain management after ureteroscopy: focused approaches to reducing opiate dependence

Area of Science:

• Urology
• Pain Management
• Pharmacology

Background:

• Ureteroscopy (URS) is a common procedure for kidney stones (nephrolithiasis).
• Postoperative pain following URS can lead to complications like emergency visits and readmissions.
• Concerns about opioid dependency drive the search for alternative pain relief methods.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review alternative pain management strategies for patients undergoing URS.
• To explore multimodal analgesia approaches to minimize opioid use.
• To identify optimal analgesic regimens for improved patient outcomes.

Main Methods:

• A narrative review of studies was conducted.
• Literature search performed on PubMed from January 2025 to February 2025.
• Focused on alternative pain management and multimodal analgesia post-URS.

Main Results:

• Combining nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), alpha-blockers, and anticholinergics shows promise.
• These combinations can effectively reduce reliance on opioids for pain relief.
• Multimodal strategies contribute to better pain control and patient satisfaction.

Conclusions:

• Optimizing postoperative pain management is crucial for patient recovery and satisfaction after URS.
• Non-opioid, multimodal analgesic strategies are increasingly important.
• Further research is needed to establish the most effective analgesic combinations for URS patients.