Ureteral stents encrustation in patients with oncological diseases

Introduction. The ureteral stent placement is one of the most common medical procedures in urology. Some patients (for example, after reconstructive surgeries on the upper urinary tract or ones with obstructive uropathy due to pathological processes in the pelvis or retroperitoneal space) require ureteral stents for a long time, which increases the risk of their encrustation. The purpose of this review is to systematize publications on the problem of stent encrustation and to discover for new research directions in this field. Materials and methods. The search, analysis and systematization of relevant publications using keywords in elibrary.ru, PubMed, cyberleninka.ru databases. Conference abstracts, dissertations and their abstracts, as well as editorial comments were excluded. As a result, 62 publications were selected, which were included in this review. Results. Changes in the chemical composition of urine and its pH, protein adsorption and biofilm formation, as well as salt crystallization on the surface of stents are the main pathogenetic mechanisms of inlay. A certain role belongs to the stent’s material, its coating, as well as the duration of its stay in the urinary tract. The diagnosis of stent encrustation is based on the use of ultrasound and X-ray diagnostic methods, mainly computed tomography. As measures to prevent stent encrustation, the possibility of using various materials for their manufacture, the use of medicines and physical factors are under investigation now. Nevertheless, by far the most reliable method of preventing ureteral stent encrustation remains their timely replacement. Conclusion. Encrustation of ureteral stents remains one of the urgent problems of urology. It requires multidisciplinary cooperation between stent manufacturers and medical specialists who deal with such patients in the course of their rutine practice. Prevention of stent encrustation is based on the integrated application of organizational, technical and medical measure.