Kidney Stones

Kidney stones that are large or complex are often treated with percutaneous nephrolithotomy, also called PCNL. Standard PCNL uses a larger access tract and is effective for removing complex kidney stones, but it may be associated with more bleeding, pain, and recovery burden. Modified mini-PCNL uses a smaller access tract and may reduce surgical trauma while maintaining a similar stone clearance rate. This multicenter randomized trial will compare modified mini-PCNL using a 20 Fr access sheath with standard PCNL using a 24 Fr access sheath in adults with complex renal stones. About 1,380 participants from 8 urology centers will be randomly assigned to receive one of the two procedures. The main purpose of the study is to determine whether modified mini-PCNL is not worse than standard PCNL in achieving stone-free status shortly after surgery. Stone-free status will be assessed by low-dose noncontrast CT within 72 hours after surgery. The study will also compare stone-free status at 3 months, complications, operation time, length of hospital stay, need for additional procedures, and quality of life.

Extracorporeal shockwave lithotripsy (ESWL) is a non-invasive standard treatment for kidney stones. This study will be conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of ESWL using MODULITH® SLX-F2 with stone tracking, compared to MODULITH® SLX-F2 without stone tracking, in adult patients with kidney stones, as measured by stone-free status.

This prospective, randomized, comparative study aims to evaluate the impact of aspirating and non-aspirating ureteral access sheaths on success rates and complications in patients undergoing retrograde intrarenal surgery (RIRS) for kidney stones. A total of 70 patients with renal stones smaller than 2 cm will be enrolled and randomly assigned to two groups. One group will undergo RIRS using a non-aspirating ureteral access sheath, while the other group will be treated using an aspirating ureteral access sheath. The primary outcome of the study is the stone-free rate, which will be assessed at postoperative follow-up. Secondary outcomes include operative time, fluoroscopy time, length of hospital stay, postoperative complications according to the Clavien-Dindo classification, infection-related parameters, and the need for ureteral stenting. The study aims to determine whether the use of an aspirating access sheath improves surgical outcomes by reducing intrarenal pressure, enhancing visualization, and decreasing complication rates. The findings are expected to contribute to optimizing device selection and improving clinical outcomes in endoscopic kidney stone surgery.

The goal of this clinical trial study is to test if patients with idiopathic calcium oxalate kidney stones have an increased production of oxalate by the body, which would lead to increased urinary excretion of oxalate. The study will recruit adult patients with a history of calcium oxalate kidney stones and healthy volunteers without kidney stones. Participants will ingest fixed diets containing low amounts of oxalate for 5 days ingest a soluble form of glycolate and vitamin C collect urine, blood, stool during the dietary and oral dosing portions of the study and also collect breath sample during the oral glycolate test

This project aims to develop an augmented reality (AR) tool to enhance skill acquisition for endoscopic kidney stone surgery. Of the 100,000 patients who undergo an endoscopic kidney stone treatment annually in the United States, 25% will require a repeat stone surgery within 20 months of their index surgery. The repeat stone surgery rate is almost completely driven by postoperative residual stone fragments, which lead to ureteral obstruction, causing pain, urinary tract infection, and kidney injury. One significant factor that contributes to residual stone fragments is limited visualization of the entire collecting system - a skill directly associated with surgeon experience. This leads to novice surgeons having a much higher recurrence rate than experienced ones. As the incidence of kidney stone disease continues to increase (prevalence of 10%, incidence of 1116 per 100,000), improved endoscopic surgical training is required to improve outcomes of stone surgeries and minimize complications by improving stone-free rate. Currently, skill assessment during endoscopic stone surgery is limited. There are no objective metrics for endoscopic surgery to assess skill. The only feedback trainees get is in the form of verbal communication from expert surgeons, usually after the conclusion of surgery. Thus, most feedback is synoptic and limited in facilitating skill acquisition. Operative time and patient safety concerns restrict the amount of active, real-time feedback given during a case for skill acquisition. Endoscopic kidney stone surgery is uniquely challenging given the small depth and field of view of current endoscopes, which complicate the complete visualization of the entire collecting system. Navigation of the collecting system relies on mentally mapping preoperative imaging to the endoscopic surgical field. Success in mapping relies on hand-eye coordination, memory, and spatial reasoning, which are gained through practice. Thus, there is a need for tools that facilitate endoscopic surgical skill acquisition. The overarching hypothesis for this research is that surgical skill acquisition and outcomes for endoscopic kidney stone surgery can be improved by analyzing eye gaze data and using expert gaze to guide surgical trainees intraoperatively. Eye gaze guidance has been shown to lead to better skill acquisition in virtual reality surgical tasks compared with motion guidance alone. The proposed system would provide real-time education for trainees during endoscopic stone surgery, such as through head-mounted displays (i.e., the Microsoft HoloLens 2). The investigators have previously demonstrated eye gaze sharing in phantoms. By implementing this system in the operating room (OR), the investigators would be able to instill durable skill acquisition in trainees. The investigators will also implement the NASA-task load index for the trainees to gauge the usability of the system.

The goal of this clinical trial is to compare Steerable Ureteroscopic Renal Evacuation (SURE) using the CVAC System and standard ureteroscopy (URS) with laser lithotripsy for the treatment of urolithiasis. This is a prospective, randomized (1:1), multi-center study.

This study is looking to understand the role of oxalate on kidney stone development and immunity. This study will enroll healthy participants and participants with calcium oxalate kidney stones (CaOx KS). Participants will be in this study for about 3 weeks, consume controlled diets, and provide blood and urine specimens.

Comprehensive comparative investigations between HugeMed HU30M 6.3 Fr f-URS and traditional approach f-URS devices in RIRS are lacking in an American population. The investigators aim to compare the outcomes of using the 6.3 Fr f-URS versus traditional approach (other f-URS present in our institution) to treat patients with stone burden ≤ 2.5 cm. The findings of this study will expand on the potential advantages and drawbacks of HU30M in enhancing surgical outcomes and patient safety in RIRS procedures. We hypothesize that the use of the HU30M will result in increased cost savings while providing similar stone free rates when compared to traditionally used f-URS devices.

The objective of the study is to compare the stone free rates with ureteroscopy utilizing the ClearPETRA suction ureteral access sheath, and mini-PCNL; both procedures and ClearPETRA sheaths are standard of care and are used regularly for stone treatment. Our primary objective is to assess the complete stone free rate with both procedures.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate whether actively suctioning the renal collecting system to induce a "collapse" state at the end of retrograde intrarenal surgery (RIRS) can reduce postoperative pain and infection in patients with kidney stones. Participants will be randomly assigned to either the experimental group (suction-induced collapse) or the control group (standard drainage). The study aims to determine if this simple surgical modification can improve early recovery outcomes and patient satisfaction.

This is a single-center prospective cohort study to evaluate the effect of short-term daily apple cider vinegar (ACV) supplementation on urine chemistry.

Patients who visit the emergency department for kidney stones are sometimes referred to urology for follow-up care but never complete that visit. Missing follow-up appointments can lead to worse outcomes, including recurrent pain, infection, or surgery. Research shows that patients who are socially or economically at risk (such as those with public insurance, lower income, or limited English proficiency) are more likely to experience these care gaps. This study will pilot a patient navigation program designed to help patients with urinary stone disease (USD) attend their scheduled urology appointments after being seen in the Emergency Department. Using an electronic health record (EHR) based prediction model developed in earlier research, patients at higher risk for being lost to follow-up will be identified and invited to participate. Each participant will be paired with a trained patient navigator who will assess barriers to care, provide support, and maintain contact for about 12 weeks. The goal of this study is to evaluate the outcomes and feasibility of this navigation intervention. Findings will help determine whether a larger study should test if this approach improves access to care and health outcomes for patients with kidney stones.

This prospective randomized controlled trial aims to compare the analgesic efficacy of three non-opioid analgesics (ibuprofen, paracetamol, and tenoxicam) during extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL). All patients undergoing ESWL will be randomly assigned into four groups including a placebo group. Pain intensity will be assessed using the Visual Analog Scale (VAS) at the 5th, 10th, 15th, and 20th minutes during the procedure. In addition to comparing analgesic efficacy, the study will evaluate patient-related and stone-related factors affecting pain perception, including body mass index, subcutaneous fat thickness, and stone density measured by Hounsfield Units. The study also aims to assess the relationship between analgesic efficacy, energy levels applied during ESWL, and treatment outcomes such as stone-free rates. The findings may contribute to optimizing individualized pain management strategies and improving treatment efficiency in ESWL procedures.

Kidney stones are a common health problem and may recur frequently, which can affect quality of life and kidney function. Retrograde intrarenal surgery (RIRS) is a minimally invasive treatment used for renal stones, but treatment of medium-sized stones may be associated with longer operative time, impaired visibility during surgery, residual stone fragments, and postoperative infectious complications caused by increased intrarenal pressure. Suction-assisted retrograde intrarenal surgery (RIRS) techniques have been developed to improve surgical efficiency and safety by facilitating continuous removal of stone fragments and helping control intrarenal pressure. Two commonly used suction-assisted approaches are direct in-scope suction (DISS) and flexible and navigable suction ureteric access sheath (FANS). However, there is limited prospective randomized evidence directly comparing these two techniques. This randomized prospective clinical study aims to compare direct in-scope suction (DISS) versus flexible and navigable suction ureteric access sheath (FANS) in adult patients with medium-sized renal stones measuring 2 to 3 cm who are undergoing retrograde intrarenal surgery (RIRS). Participants will be randomly assigned to one of the two suction-assisted techniques. The study will evaluate whether flexible and navigable suction ureteric access sheath (FANS) provides better outcomes than direct in-scope suction (DISS) in terms of stone-free rate and postoperative infection rate. The primary outcome is stone-free status assessed by postoperative imaging. Secondary outcomes include operative time, intraoperative visibility, and postoperative complications, particularly infection and urosepsis. The study hypothesis is that suction-assisted retrograde intrarenal surgery (RIRS) using the flexible and navigable suction ureteric access sheath (FANS) technique will result in a higher stone-free rate and a lower postoperative infection rate compared with direct in-scope suction (DISS) in the management of medium-sized renal stones.

Improvements in ureteroscopes have led to improved stone free rates. Two new devices (FANS - Flexible and Navigable Suction) and the CVAC ureteroscope have never been compared head to head. This trial will compare these two new suction ureteroscope technologies against each other

The goal of this observational study is to learn about the effects of using negative pressure suction during retrograde intrarenal surgery (RIRS) in patients aged 18 and older with kidney stones. The main questions it aims to answer are: 1. Does using negative pressure suction during surgery affect the amount of irrigation fluid absorbed by the patient's body? 2. Does using negative pressure suction reduce the risk of postoperative infections, such as fever, systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS), and urosepsis? Researchers will compare patients who undergo surgery with a negative pressure suction sheath to patients who undergo surgery with a standard sheath (without suction) to see if the suction technology reduces fluid absorption and lowers the risk of postoperative complications. Participants will undergo their scheduled kidney stone surgery as part of their regular medical care. Researchers will collect their routine clinical data from the hospital system, including: 1. Preoperative test results (such as CT scans, ultrasounds, and urine tests). 2. Intraoperative data (such as surgery duration and the exact amount of fluid absorbed, measured by a monitoring device). 3. Postoperative recovery data (such as body temperature, pain levels, hospital stay length, and any signs of infection).

The goal of this clinical trial is to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of Steerable Ureteroscopic Renal Evacuation (SURE) with the CVAC System versus other commonly used renal-stone interventions.

Here is a \*\*patient-friendly, ClinicalTrials.gov-compliant Brief Summary\*\* written in \*\*plain language\*\*, avoiding technical jargon as much as possible while remaining accurate. You can \*\*copy-paste this directly\*\* into the \*\*Brief Summary\*\* field. * \*\*Brief Summary\*\* Percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL) is a common surgical procedure used to remove large kidney stones. Patients often experience moderate to severe pain after this surgery due to the surgical incision and irritation of the kidney and surrounding tissues. Effective pain control after PCNL is important to improve patient comfort, reduce the need for opioid medications, and enhance recovery. Several regional anesthesia techniques have been developed to reduce postoperative pain. Two of these techniques are the dual-approach external oblique fascial plane block and the erector spinae plane block. Both techniques involve injecting a local anesthetic near specific muscle planes using ultrasound guidance to reduce pain signals from the surgical area. However, it is not yet clear which of these two techniques provides better pain relief after PCNL. This study aims to compare the effectiveness of the dual-approach external oblique fascial plane block and the erector spinae plane block in controlling pain after PCNL surgery. Adult patients scheduled for PCNL will be randomly assigned to receive one of the two nerve block techniques or standard general anesthesia alone. Pain levels, additional pain medication requirements, patient satisfaction, and any block-related complications will be assessed during the first 24 hours after surgery. The results of this study may help determine the most effective regional anesthesia technique for improving postoperative pain management in patients undergoing PCNL.

This study is looking at whether empagliflozin, a medication typically used for diabetes and heart conditions, may affect factors that contribute to kidney stone formation. The research focuses on people who have had calcium-based kidney stones, i.e. calcium oxalate or calcium phosphate stones. Previous studies in those without kidney stones found that empagliflozin increased urinary citrate levels without raising urine pH. The investigators are testing whether similar effects occur in people with a history of kidney stones. Participants will take empagliflozin daily for 4 weeks. The investigators will collect 24-hour urine samples before and after treatment to measure various factors that influence stone formation, including citrate levels, pH, and calculated stone formation risk. The investigators will enroll 32 participants: 16 with a history of calcium oxalate stones and 16 with calcium phosphate stones. Results from this study may inform future larger clinical trials investigating empagliflozin as a kidney stone prevention strategy.

This single-center randomized controlled trial at Mount Sinai West will enroll 80 patients undergoing percutaneous nephrolithotomy for calcium oxalate stones. Participants will be randomized to receive either empiric therapy or selective therapy guided by 24-hour urine evaluation. The primary outcome is change in calcium oxalate supersaturation at 4 weeks, aiming to determine whether empiric therapy can provide outcomes comparable to selective therapy while simplifying access to prevention.

This study is being done to evaluate a new robotic system that helps urologists more precisely reach the kidney during surgery to remove large kidney stones. The procedure, called percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL), is typically used for people who have large or difficult-to-remove kidney stones. Traditionally, many urologists rely on radiologists to place a tube into the kidney before surgery. This can cause delays, require multiple procedures, and increase costs. The robotic system being studied - called LARC - is designed to help the urologist safely and accurately guide a needle directly into the kidney during the surgery, without needing a separate procedure beforehand. The robot uses live X-ray images to help align the instruments. Although parts of the robot have been approved by the U.S. FDA, the version used in this study is still investigational and not yet approved for this specific purpose. The study will take place at AdventHealth Celebration and include up to 45 adult patients who are scheduled for PCNL surgery. Participants will be followed for up to 1 month after surgery, and doctors will look at outcomes such as the success of the procedure, the number of kidney stones removed, complications, time in surgery, and radiation exposure. This research may help make kidney stone surgery safer, faster, and more effective in the future.

To compare the efficacy and safety of flexible ureterorenoscopy (fURS) versus extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL) in managing lower calyceal renal stones ≤15 mm and \<1000 HU.

This research study is being conducted to assess the ability and efficiency of two laser systems to break up kidney stones during ureteroscopy with laser lithotripsy for kidney stone treatment.

The goal of this clinical trial is to compare the efficacy, ergonomics, and safety of robotic versus manual flexible ureteroscopy (fURS) for kidney stone treatment in adult patients undergoing laser lithotripsy. * Does robotic-assisted lithotripsy using the ILY® robot have the same efficacy as the manual fURS in treating kidney stones? * Is robotic flexible ureteroscopy associated with similar or improved safety outcomes, including perioperative and 30-day postoperative complication rates? * Does the robotic system offer improved ergonomics, lower surgeon radiation exposure, and favorable intraoperative metrics compared to manual flexible ureteroscopy? Researchers will compare the ILY robotic system with manual fURS to see if robotic intervention can match or improve clinical and ergonomic outcomes. Participants will: * Be randomly assigned to undergo laser lithotripsy with either the ILY robot or manual flexible ureteroscopy * Complete standard pre- and postoperative assessments * Undergo evaluation for stone-free status using a non-contrast CT scan at 30 days postoperatively * Undergo evaluation for postoperative complications

This multicenter, randomized, controlled superiority trial (the SCULPT trial) aims to compare the efficacy and safety of a novel steerable flexible and navigable suction ureteral access sheath (FANS) versus the conventional FANS in the treatment of lower pole renal stones ≤2 cm. Lower pole stones are particularly challenging due to the narrow infundibular-pelvic anatomy that limits the maneuverability of standard FANS. The steerable FANS incorporates an active deflection mechanism that allows for independent control, potentially improving the success rate of accessing the lower pole calyx, performing laser lithotripsy, and aspirating stone fragments without additional adjuncts. A total of 400 patients from 20 high-volume urological centers in China (approximately 20 patients per center) will be randomized in a 1:1 ratio to receive either steerable FANS or conventional FANS during flexible ureteroscopy. Primary outcome measures include the success rate of FANS navigation into the lower pole calyx as evidenced by direct stone visualization, effective laser lithotripsy, and successful stone aspiration. Secondary outcomes will assess immediate and 1-month stone-free rates, operative time, complication rates, instrument durability, and improvements in quality of life. This study is expected to provide critical evidence to guide clinical decision-making and potentially improve treatment efficiency for challenging lower pole renal stones.