Effect of Flexible Ureteroscopic Lithotripsy on Surgical Outcomes, Renal Function and Quality of Life of Patients with 2-3 cm Renal Calculi

Aim: This retrospective study aims to analyse the effect of flexible ureteroscopic lithotripsy (FURSL) on the surgical outcome, renal function (RF) and quality of life (QoL) of patients with 2-3 cm renal calculi.Methods: A total of 111 patients with renal calculi (2-3 cm) admitted from January 2019 to May 2022 were selected. Among them, 55 patients who underwent minimally invasive percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL) were set as the control group and 56 patients treated with FURSL served as the research group. The control group consisted of 29 males and 26 females aged (43.31 & PLUSMN; 6.49) years on average. The research group consisted of 31 males and 25 females, with a mean age of (42.46 & PLUSMN; 7.44) years. Parameters such as surgical outcomes (stone clearance rate, bleeding volume, operation time and postoperative recovery time), incidence of adverse reactions (ARs: Gross hematuria, fever, urinary tract infection (UTI) and urinary tract injury), RF (blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and serum creatinine (Scr)), pain degree and QoL were compared.Results: No significant difference in the stone clearance rate was found between the groups. Compared with the control group, the research group had statistically longer operation time, less bleeding, postoperative recovery time, and incidence of ARs and pain and obviously higher QoL. BUN and Scr differed insignificantly between the groups before and after surgery.Conclusions: FURSL can accelerate postoperative recovery in patients with 2-3 cm renal calculi, lower the risk of postoperative ARs, mitigate pain and improve QoL without significantly affecting RF.