TABLE 2.
Stone characteristics and stone‐free rate definition.
| Author/Year | Control arm | Experimental arm | SFR Definition | SFR assessment | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Definition | Sample size | Stone size mm (± SD) | Stone surface mm2 (± SD) | HU (± SD) | Stone location (number) | Definition | Sample size | Stone size mm (± SD) | Stone surface mm2 (± SD) | HU (± SD) | Stone location (number) | |||
| Sur 2022 | Flexible URS | 8 | NR | NR | 926 |
Ureter 0 Renal 5 |
Flexible URS with suction | 9 | NR | NR | 786 |
Ureter 0 Renal 7 |
No residual fragments | CT at 1 day and 4 weeks |
| Tang 2023 | Mini‐PCNL | 87 | 15 (5) | NR | NR |
Upper ureter 87 Renal 0 |
Flexible URS with suction | 86 | 16 (4) | NR | NR |
Upper ureter 86 Renal 0 |
Fragments ≤2 mm | CT for radiolucent stones and X‐ray KUB for radiopaque stones at 1 day (immediate), 2 weeks and 4 weeks (final) |
| Chen 2019 | Mini‐PCNL | 45 | NR | NR | NR |
Ureter 0 Upper calyx 16 Middle calyx 16 Lower calyx 13 |
Flexible URS with suction | 44 | NR | NR | NR |
Ureter 0 Upper calyx 17 Middle calyx 18 Lower calyx 11 |
Fragments <3 mm | X‐ray KUB at 4 weeks |
| Du 2019 | Semi‐rigid URS | 60 | 21.4 (3.6) | NR | 985 (227) |
Upper ureter 20 Mid ureter 13 Distal ureter 27 Renal 0 |
Semi‐rigid URS with suction | 62 | 21.9 (4.9) | NR | 1023 (215) |
Upper ureter 21 Mid ureter 15 Distal ureter 26 Renal 0 |
Fragments ≤4 mm | X‐ray KUB at 4 weeks |
| Lai 2020 | Mini‐PCNL | 56 | 38.2 (5.4) | 729 (83.7) | 845 (240) |
Ureter 0 Renal pelvis 56 Upper calyx 22 Middle calyx 28 Lower calyx 22 |
Flexible URS with suction | 28 | 35.3 (6.3) | 676.1 (42.2) | 894 (232) |
Ureter 0 Renal pelvis 28 Upper calyx 13 Middle calyx 15 Lower calyx 11 |
No residual fragments | CT at 1 day and 12 weeks |
| Zhu 2018 | Flexible URS | 165 | 17.4 (4.7) | NR | 1023 (175) |
Ureter NR Renal pelvis 23 Upper calyx 18 Middle calyx 35 Lower calyx 42 |
Flexible URS with suction | 165 | 18.2 (5.2) | NR | 1049 (196) |
Ureter NR Renal pelvis 29 Upper calyx 14 Middle calyx 27 Lower calyx 40 |
Fragments <2 mm | X‐ray KUB at 1 day and X‐ray or CT KUB at 4 weeks |
| Zhang 2021 | Semi‐rigid URS | 50 | 12.5 (4.9) | NR | 665 (310) |
Upper ureter 50 Renal 0 |
Semi‐rigid URS with suction | 56 | 13.9 (4.7) | NR | 709 (344) |
Upper ureter 56 Renal 0 |
No residual fragments | CT at 3–5 days and 4 weeks |
| Zhang 2021 | Flexible URS | 54 | 12.7 (5.5) | NR | 684 (376) |
Upper ureter 54 Renal 0 |
Semi‐rigid URS with suction | 56 | 13.9 (4.7) | NR | 709 (344) |
Upper ureter 56 Renal 0 |
No residual fragments | CT at 3–5 days and 4 weeks |
| Lechevallier 2003 | Semi‐rigid URS | 14 | NR | NR | NR | NR | Semi‐rigid URS with suction | 11 | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | XR KUB at the end of procedure |
| Huang 2023 | Flexible URS | 103 | 17 (5) | NR | NR | NR | Flexible URS with suction | 103 | 17 (6) | NR | NR | NR | Fragments <3 mm | CT at 1 day and 4 weeks |
| Wu 2022 | Semi‐rigid URS | 82 | NR | 157 (35) | 916 (81) |
Upper ureter 82 Renal 0 |
Semi‐rigid URS with suction | 76 | NR | 165 (33) | 938 (85) |
Upper ureter 76 Renal 0 |
No residual fragments | X‐ray KUB at 1 day and 4 weeks |
| Ding 2023 | Flexible URS | 61 | 13.4 (5.2) | NR | 715 (341) |
Upper ureter 13 Renal pelvis 35 Upper calyx 2 Middle calyx 5 Lower calyx 29 |
Flexible URS with suction | 138 | 13 (6.9) | NR | 752 (429) |
Upper ureter 26 Renal pelvis 98 Upper calyx 3 Middle calyx 11 Lower calyx 64 |
Fragments <2 mm | CT at 4 weeks |
| Zhai 2023 | Semi‐rigid URS | 60 | NR | 132 (25) | 912 (53) |
Upper ureter 13 Mid ureter 17 Distal ureter 30 Renal 0 |
Semi‐rigid URS with suction | 60 | NR | 137 (27) | 907 (64) |
Upper ureter 12 Mid ureter 18 Distal ureter 30 Renal 0 |
Fragments <4 mm | 4 weeks |
| Zhai 2023 | Semi‐rigid URS | 60 | NR | 132 (25) | 912 (53) |
Upper ureter 13 Mid ureter 17 Distal ureter 30 Renal 0 |
Semi‐rigid URS with suction | 60 | NR | 136 (25) | 897 (94) |
Upper ureter 12 Mid ureter 28 Distal ureter 20 Renal 0 |
Fragments <4 mm | 4 weeks |
| Qian 2022 | Flexible URS | 81 | 20 (4.5) | NR | NR |
Ureter 0 Renal 81 |
Flexible URS with suction | 81 | 19.7 (4.5) | NR | NR |
Ureter 0 Renal 0 |
Fragments <4 mm | X‐ray KUB at 1 day and X‐ray/CT KUB at 4 weeks |
| Zhang 2022 | Flexible URS | 30 | 18.5 (5.6) | NR | NR |
Ureter 0 Renal 30 |
Semi‐rigid URS with suction (combined with fURS) | 30 | 18.2 (5.3) | NR | NR |
Ureter 0 Renal 30 |
Fragments ≤3 mm | X‐ray KUB at 1 week |
| Deng 2022 | Mini‐PCNL | 70 | 24.9 (7.9) | NR | NR |
Ureter 0 Renal 70 |
Flexible URS with suction | 57 | 23.1 (6.5) | NR | NR |
Ureter 0 Renal 57 |
Fragments <2 mm | CT at 4 and 12 weeks |
| AlSmadi 2019 | Semi‐rigid URS | 60 | 14.9 (1.8) | NR | 777 (120) |
Upper ureter 60 Renal 0 |
Semi‐rigid URS with suction | 43 | 12.7 (1.2) | NR | 896 (70) |
Upper ureter 43 Renal 0 |
Fragments ≤3 mm | X‐ray KUB at 1–2 days and CT at 4 weeks |
Abbreviations: fURS, flexible ureteroscopy; KUB, kidneys‐ureters‐bladder; mini‐PCNL, mini percutaneous nephrolithotripsy; NR, not reported; RCT, randomized controlled trial; URS, ureteroscopy.