Archives of International Surgery

ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Year
: 2020  |  Volume : 10  |  Issue : 3  |  Page : 86--90

A prospective observational study on the utility of smartphone-based Ureteral Stent Tracker (UST) application in preventing cases of forgotten ureteral double-J stents


S Sengupta1, S Basu1, K Ghosh2 
1 Department of Urology, RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, Kolkata, West Bengal, India
2 Department of Radiology, North Bengal Medical College and Hospital, Sushrutanagar, West Bengal, India

Correspondence Address:
Dr. S Sengupta
Flat 4 D, Sarala Apartment, 7/2 Motijheel, Dumdum Road, Kolkata, West Bengal - 700 074
India

Background: The use of ureteral stents is an integral part of daily urological practice. These need to be removed after a specified time limit. Unfortunately, some of the DJ stents are forgotten and hence retained. This is where the usefulness of smartphone-based Ureteral Stent Tracker (UST) application comes into play. In this study, we have aimed to evaluate the efficacy and usefulness of smartphone-based UST application and compare the results with basic appointment card system to prevent forgotten ureteral stents (FUS). Patients and Methods: It is a prospective observational study including a total of 118 patients. They were divided into two groups. Those in group A, were recorded to UST application and those in group B, were provided with only the printed advice to remove their ureteral stent. The two groups were compared in terms of overdue days and lost to follow-up rates. Results: Groups A and B were comparable with no statistically significant differences among the groups regarding age, educational level and laterality of the ureteral stent. The mean overdue days were 4.25 ± 3.627 and 11.49 ± 6.273 in group A and B respectively. Conclusions: In our study, we checked the dashboard of the ST application every day to look for overdue days. Patients followed up with the stent tracker application had significantly less overdue days compared to those who were not. So, UST can be an important addition to daily urological practice to minimise the incidence of retained ureteral stents.


How to cite this article:
Sengupta S, Basu S, Ghosh K. A prospective observational study on the utility of smartphone-based Ureteral Stent Tracker (UST) application in preventing cases of forgotten ureteral double-J stents.Arch Int Surg 2020;10:86-90


How to cite this URL:
Sengupta S, Basu S, Ghosh K. A prospective observational study on the utility of smartphone-based Ureteral Stent Tracker (UST) application in preventing cases of forgotten ureteral double-J stents. Arch Int Surg [serial online] 2020 [cited 2024 Mar 28 ];10:86-90
Available from: https://www.archintsurg.org/article.asp?issn=2278-9596;year=2020;volume=10;issue=3;spage=86;epage=90;aulast=Sengupta;type=0