Table 1. Characteristics of included studies.
| First author/year | Country | Study interval | Study type | Surgical approach | No. of patients, Stented/Unstented | Follow-up, months | Company/Diameter of stents | Duration of stent, days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Borboroglu 2001 | USA | 1998–2001 | RCT | URL | 53/54 | 1 | NR/6F | 3–10 |
| Denstedt 2001 | Canada | NR | RCT | URL | 29/29 | 3 | NR/NR | 7 |
| Netto 2001 | Brazil | 1997–2000 | RCT | URL | 133/162 | 3 | NR/NR | 1–3 |
| Chen 2002 | Taiwan | 2000–2000 | RCT | URL | 30/30 | 1 | NR/7F | 3 |
| Cheung 2003 | HongKong | 2001–2002 | RCT | URL | 29/29 | 3 | NR/6F | 14 |
| Srivastava 2003 | India | 2000–2002 | RCT | URL | 26/22 | 3 | NR/6F | 21 |
| Damiano 2004 | Italy | 2000–2002 | RCT | URL | 52/52 | 3 | NR/4.5 or 6F | 14 |
| Jeong 2004 | Korea | 2000–2001 | RCT | URL | 23/22 | NR | NR/7F | 7 |
| Hussein 2006 | Egypt | 2003–2004 | RCT | URL | 28/28 | 6 | NR/6F | 21 |
| El-Assmy 2006 | Egypt | 2001–2004 | RCT | ESWL | 93/93 | 3 | NR/6F | 14–42 |
| Al-Ba'adani 2006 | Yemen | 2004–2005 | RCT | URL | 40/45 | 1 | NR/6F | 2–28 |
| Isen 2008 | Turkey | 2004–2007 | RCT | URL | 21/22 | NR | NR/4.8F | 21 |
| Ibrahim 2008 | Egypt | 2004–2006 | RCT | URL | 110/110 | 24 | NR/6F | 14 |
| Shao 2008 | China | 2005–2006 | RCT | URL | 58/57 | 3 | Cook IrelandLtd/4.7F | 14 |
| Wang 2009 | Taiwan | 2004–2007 | RCT | URL | 71/67 | 3 | NR/7F | 7 |
| Xu 2009 | China | 2005–2006 | RCT | URL | 55/55 | 3 | NR/4.8F | 21 |
| Ghoneim 2010 | Egypt | 2007–2008 | RCT | ESWL | 30/30 | 3 | Rusch International/6F | >7 |
| Cevik 2010 | Turkey | 2005–2007 | RCT | URL | 30/30 | 3 | NR/4.8F | 21 |
| Başeskioğlu 2011 | Turkey | 2005–2010 | RCT | URL | 144/142 | 6 | NR/NR | NR |
| Zaki 2011 | Pakistan | 2008–2010 | RCT | URL | 99/99 | 3 | NR/6F | 5 |
| Sfoungaristos 2012 | Greece | 2009–2011 | RCT | ESWL | 70/86 | NR | NR/6F | NR |
| Chauhan 2015 | India | 2011–2014 | RCT | URL | 33/31 | NR | NR/5F | 14 |