Septic and febrile kidney stone presentations during the COVID-19 pandemic

What is the effect of reduced access to care during pandemic restrictions?

Authors

  • Jesse Spooner Department of Urology, Dalhousie University
  • Kaveh Masoumi-Ravandi Dalhousie University
  • Wyatt MacNevin Department of Urology, Dalhousie University
  • Gabriela Ilie Department of Community Health and Epidemiology, Department of Urology, Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Department of Radiation Oncology, Dalhousie University
  • Thomas Skinner Department of Urology, Dalhousie University
  • Andrea Lantz Powers Department of Urology, Dalhousie University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5489/cuaj.8450

Keywords:

Septic stone, nephrolithiasis, febrile stone, COVID

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: During the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, hospitals shifted their resources and focus toward COVID-19 care and non-deferrable conditions. Renal colic is one of the most common urologic presentations to the emergency department (ED). In our study, we examined whether there was an increase in septic/febrile stone presentations to the ED requiring ureteral stent insertion after the public health restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic.

METHODS: We carried out a retrospective cohort study and reviewed charts of septic/ febrile stone patients requiring ureteral stent insertion from January 1, 2019, to March 16, 2020 (pre-COVID) and July 1, 2020, to December 31, 2021 (intra-COVID) at the Queen Elizabeth II Health Sciences Centre in Halifax, NS. The incidence of septic/febrile stone presentation, baseline characteristics, and perioperative outcomes were captured.

RESULTS: There were 54 patients in the pre-COVID group and 74 patients in the intra- COVID group. There were no statistically significant differences found in baseline or stone characteristics between the two groups (p>0.05). Patients in the intra-COVID group were found to have a longer presentation to operating room time when compared to the pre-COVID cohort (U=961.00, p=0.04). The intra-COVID group had 20 more cases of septic stone presentations compared to the pre-COVID group at the 15-month mark (pre-COVID, n=54; intra-COVID, n=74).

CONCLUSIONS: We found increased time to operative intervention in the intra-COVID cohort compared to the pre-COVID cohort. The overall number of urgent and/or critically ill ureteric stone patients increased between cohorts but was not statistically significant.

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Published

2023-09-29

How to Cite

Spooner, J., Masoumi-Ravandi, K., MacNevin, W., Ilie, G. ., Skinner, T., & Lantz Powers, A. (2023). Septic and febrile kidney stone presentations during the COVID-19 pandemic: What is the effect of reduced access to care during pandemic restrictions?. Canadian Urological Association Journal, 18(1), E19–25. https://doi.org/10.5489/cuaj.8450

Issue

Vol. 18 No. 1 (2024): CUAJ January

Section

Original Research

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