Impact of COVID-19 on the management and outcomes of ureteric stones in the UK: a multicentre retrospective study.

OBJECTIVES: To determine if management of ureteric stones in the United Kingdom changed during the COVID-19 pandemic and whether this affected patient outcomes. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We conducted a multicentre retrospective study of adults with CT-proven ureteric stone disease at 39 UK hospitals during a pre-pandemic period (23/3/19 to 22/6/19) and a period during the pandemic (the 3-month period after the first SARS-CoV-2 case at individual sites). The primary outcome was success of primary treatment modality, defined as no further treatment required for the index ureteric stone. Our study protocol was published prior to data collection. RESULTS: A total of 3735 patients were included (pre-pandemic=1956 patients; pandemic=1779 patients). Stone size was similar between groups (p>0.05). During the pandemic, patients had lower hospital admission rates (pre-pandemic=54.0% vs pandemic=46.5%, p<0.001), shorter length of stay (mean=4.1 vs. 3.3 days, p=0.02), and higher rates of use of medical expulsive therapy (17.4% vs. 25.4%, p<0.001). In patients who received interventional management (pre-pandemic n=787 vs. pandemic n=685), rates of ESWL (22.7% vs. 34.1%, p<0.001) and nephrostomy were higher (7.1% vs. 10.5%, p=0.03); and rates of ureteroscopy (57.2% vs. 47.5%, p<0.001), stent insertion (68.4% vs. 54.6%, p<0.001), and general anaesthetic (92.2% vs. 76.2%, p<0.001) were lower. There was no difference in success of primary treatment modality between patient cohorts (pre-pandemic=73.8% vs. pandemic=76.1%, P=0.11), nor when patients were stratified by treatment modality or stone size. Rates of operative complications, 30-day mortality, and readmission and renal function at 6 months did not differ between the data collection periods. CONCLUSIONS: During the COVID-19 pandemic, there were lower admission rates and fewer invasive procedures performed. Despite this, there were no differences in treatment success or outcomes. Our findings indicate that clinicians can safely adopt management strategies developed during the pandemic to treat more patients conservatively and in the community.