There are many treatment modalities available for managing renal and upper ureteric stones. They range from completely non-invasive outpatient procedures to invasive procedures requiring hospital admission and increased risks of complications. Extracorporeal shockwave lithotripsy (ESWL) is a truly non-invasive procedure as opposed to other surgical treatments used, such as retrograde intrarenal surgery and percutaneous nephrolithotomy (1). The choice between shockwave lithotripsy (SWL) and other treatment modalities depends on several factors, including stone site, stone burden, stone CT density, etc. Another compounding factor in choosing the treatment modality is patient preference and expectation (1). Extracorporeal Shock Wave Lithotripsy is one of the treatment options for patients with renal and ureteral calculi. Even though the procedure is less invasive compared to others. Pain caused by the procedure is a major concern. Several studies recommended the use of either local or systemic analgesia with varying results (2). As a truly non-invasive treatment option, ESWL has been widely used for treating renal, as well as ureteric, stones with satisfactory efficacy and minimal morbidity. However, the pain caused by ESWL is a major limitation of its efficacy, in addition to the associated patient dissatisfaction and negative experience that may result in the patient refraining from further sessions. The relationship between pain and ESWL efficacy can be explained by multiple facts: firstly, the pain leads to inability to increase the energy delivered by the shockwaves to optimum levels; secondly, the pain usually leads to significant movement of the patient, as well as excessive respiratory movements, both of which move the stone away from the focus of shockwaves; lastly, the pain may be severe that the session is discontinued before delivery of effective number of shockwaves
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Comparison between local and systemic analgesia
Timeframe: Baseline