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Report on the First 1000 Patients Treated at St Thomas' Hospital by Extracorporeal Shockwave Lithotripsy
Author(s) -
PALFREY E. L. H.,
BULTITUDE M. I.,
CHALLAH S.,
PEMBERTON J.,
SHUTTLEWORTH K. E. D.
Publication year - 1986
Publication title -
british journal of urology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.773
H-Index - 148
eISSN - 1464-410X
pISSN - 0007-1331
DOI - 10.1111/j.1464-410x.1986.tb05887.x
Subject(s) - extracorporeal shockwave lithotripsy , medicine , referral , extracorporeal , mortality rate , lithotripsy , general surgery , emergency medicine , surgery , family medicine
Summary— Since March 1985, over 1000 patients have been treated on the lithotripter at St Thomas' Hospital. Since it is the only machine in the country offering treatment to National Health Service patients at no cost to the referring Health Authority, there has been a heavy demand for treatment and 97% of referrals have been accepted. Analysis of the first 1000 patients shows extracorporeal shockwave lithotripsy (ESWL) to be a safe procedure with a low morbidity rate and no mortality. The number of patients who were stone‐free 3 months after treatment was low (44.1%) compared with the numbers reported in other series. The most likely reasons for this are the poor follow‐up rate (48.9%), the stringent criteria for the diagnosis of “stone‐free” and a possible skewed referral and follow‐up pattern.