Abstracts

and Objectives: Ureteric stenting is one of the commonest procedures in urology. It is used to relieve or prevent obstruction of the upper urinary tract. However, they are associated with a variety of symptoms which can be very disturbing to some patients. It is known to be present in up to 90% patients whom are stented, but they are frequently discharged without any medication to relieve the symptoms. The long waiting list in government hospitals have made the situation worse and many patients are wrongly treated for urinary tract infection when they present to other doctors with such symptoms. Hence, this study is to determine the prevalence of stent-related symptoms caused by the ureteral stent in our local patient population. Material and Methods: This is a prospective cohort study using a guided self-administered questionnaire. All patients who require unilateral ureteric stenting were prospectively enrolled from June 2016 to December 2016 in 2 urology Institutions, namely Hospital Tengku Ampuan Afzan and Hospital Pulau Pinang. Patients who were recruited were free from any chronic medications that may alter the IPSS scoring like alpha-blockers, anti-muscarinics or analgesics. IPSS scoring was done prior to stenting and several weeks after the stenting for comparison. In addition, two additional questions were included to evaluate important symptoms of haematuria and dysuria. Results: A total of 52 patients (26 men and 26 women, mean age 47.3 years) were recruited into the study. A large proportion (85%) of patients reported one or more urinary symptoms. Analysis of the IPSS data showed statistically significant difference between pre-stenting IPSS scores and post-stenting IPSS scores. Most patients report symptoms of incomplete emptying, frequency, intermittency, urgency which reach statistically significant difference. However, symptoms of weak stream and straining did not reach statistical significance. The responses to additional questions on dysuria and haematuria also showed a statistically significant difference. Conclusions: The prevalence of stentrelated symptoms caused by the ureteral stent is high. At such, patients whom are stented should all be educated about stentrelated symptoms. This can help reduce the misdiagnosis of urinary tract infection and prevent unnecessary use of antibiotics. Patients may benefit from routine prescription of anti-muscarinics or alpha blockers upon discharge since the prevalence is so high.