Renal Stones, Infection May Predict Complexity

Preoperative factors linked to higher odds of prolonged care and repeat interventions in surgical patients.

By
Andrea Surnit
May 1, 2026
3 min

Conexiant

Objective:

To identify predictors of treatment complexity in female patients with upper urinary tract stones undergoing surgical treatment, emphasizing the female patient population.

Key Findings:

Stone location and infection were the strongest predictors of treatment complexity, defined as a composite of specific preoperative and postoperative events.
Patients with renal stones had 6.7 times the odds of treatment complexity compared to those with ureteral stones.
Bacterial or fungal infection increased the odds of treatment complexity by 3.3 times.
Elevated inflammatory markers, such as high-sensitivity C-reactive protein and procalcitonin, were linked to increased risk.

Interpretation:

The study suggests that renal stone location and infection are significant risk factors for complex treatment courses, and elevated inflammatory markers may indicate intermediate risk, highlighting the need for tailored clinical approaches.

Limitations:

Retrospective design and single-center study limit generalizability.
Modest sample size and composite outcome may combine events with different clinical implications.
Infection-related variables may have overestimated predictive strength.

Conclusion:

The proposed preoperative risk stratification framework may help identify high-risk patients and support individualized surgical strategies, pending external validation to confirm its applicability.