Electrohydraulic versus pneumatic disintegration in the treatment of ureteral stones: a randomized, prospective trial

The efficacy and safety of electrohydraulic versus pneumatic lithotripsy in the treatment of ureteral stones were evaluated in a prospective, randomized study. A total of 72 patients with stones not capable of passing spontaneously and unsuitable for extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy was randomized to either method (34 to electrohydraulic lithotripsy and 38 to pneumatic lithotripsy). While both techniques were equivalent in efficacy (85.3% for electrohydraulic and 89.5% for pneumatic lithotripsy), the perforation rates were significantly different (17.6 versus 2.6%, respectively). Although the long-term results revealed no significant differences, pneumatic lithotripsy, as the markedly safer and easier to handle technique, is currently the method of choice at our stone center for ureteral calculi requiring treatment but not suitable for extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy.