Evaluation of reasons and risk factors of missed double J stent

Abstract

Patients with urological disorders may need a Double J stent to facilitate the outflow of urine remaining in the renal pelvis. The Double J stent can stay in the patient's body for a limited period of time. Otherwise, they will be accompanied by complications and symptoms. However, some patients must remember to remove the Double J stent from their bodies and not remove it at the appointed time. This study aims to determine the causes and risk factors of forgotten ureteral stents in patients who fail to remove the ureteral stents. Method and materials: This study is a retrospective, descriptive-analytical study in which patients who kept the double J stent in their body for a longer period of time and did not remove it were examined. In this study, the minimum duration of the ureteral stent remaining in the patient's body was considered to be six months. The present study investigated the complications and problems with which the patients came to the hospital. The causes and factors that caused forgetting to remove this stent from the body at the appointed time were extracted and analyzed based on the questionnaire and the data of the patients in the hospital records. The data that was removed from the files and questionnaires can be found in such things as the age of the patients, the gender of the patients, the specialist who applied the ureteral stent, the location of the hospital, the occupation of the patients, the type of insurance of the patients, the location of the bell, and the distance between the patient's residence and the provincial capital for access. To the Higher Center of Health and Medical Services, the level of education of the patients, marital status, income, living conditions, the reasons for the ureteral stent remaining in the body for a long time and the failure to remove it, and the physical disabilities of the patients were investigated. Results: In this study, 114 patients had forgotten about ureteral stent removal during 12 years at Imam Reza and Sinai hospitals, and the average age of the patients was 60 years. Men were 54.39% of patients, and women were 45.61%. 63.15% of patients underwent stent placement by general surgeons and 36.85% by urology. The average length of stay for ureteral stents in patients was 25.55 months. 28.9% of patients did not have insurance coverage. 27.2% of patients needed more access to the province's center to reach the excellent healthcare service center. Among the patients, only 14.9% had sufficient income. All patients had yet to receive SMS or internet warnings about ureteral stent removal. 86.8% of patients received a notification about the timely removal of the ureteral stent from the medical staff at the time of the ureteral stent placement. The most common reasons that caused the stent to remain in the patient's body were lack of memory and the financial inability of the patients. The most common symptoms with which patients went to the treating doctor were flank and abdominal pain.