Evidence map›Paper›PMID 31702546›Full record

ArticleCanadian Urological Association journal = Journal de l'Association des urologues du Canada2020

The effect of travel distance on health-related quality of life for patients with nephrolithiasis.

Gopal L Narang, Laura E Wiener, Kristina L Penniston, Jodi A Antonelli, Timothy D Averch, Sri Sivalingam, Ben H Chew, Vincent G Bird, Vernon M Pais, Roger L Sur and 5 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Canadian Urological Association journal = Journal de l'Association des urologues du Canada, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

5 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Impact of travel distance on short-term outcomes in patients receiving treatment for urolithiasis A population-based study.Canadian Urological Association journal = Journal de l'Association des urologues du Canada · 2025
    Article
  2. Article
  3. Review
  4. Article
  5. The burden of travel on quality of life in stone patients.Canadian Urological Association journal = Journal de l'Association des urologues du Canada · 2020
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

15 authors.

Gopal L NarangUniversity of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC, United States.
Laura E WienerDepartment of Biostatistics, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, United States.
Kristina L PennistonUniversity of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, WI, United States.
Jodi A AntonelliUniversity of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, United States.
Timothy D AverchPalmetto Health USC Medical Group, Columbia, SC, United States.
Sri SivalingamGlickman Urological & Kidney Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH.
Ben H ChewUniversity of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
Vincent G BirdUniversity of Florida College of Medicine, Gainesville, FL, United States.
Vernon M PaisGeisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Hanover, NH, United States.
Roger L SurUniversity of California San Diego School of Medicine, San Diego, CA, United States.
Thomas ChiUniversity of California San Francisco School of Medicine, San Francisco, CA, United States.
Necole M StreeperPenn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, Hershey, PA, United States.
Stephen Y NakadaUniversity of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, WI, United States.
Gary G KochDepartment of Biostatistics, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, United States.
Davis P ViprakasitUniversity of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC, United States.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionUrolithiasis causes a significant impact on health-related quality of life (HRQOL). Patients with kidney stones have high levels of stress and anxiety. Symptom resolution often requires treatment. Travel distance is a barrier to care but little is known about its effects on HRQOL. We hypothesize that increased distance to treatment site is associated with decreased HRQOL.

methodsPatients with a history of stones were enrolled at 11 tertiary centers as part of the QOL Stone Consortium of North America. HRQOL data were obtained using the Wisconsin Stone Quality of Life questionnaire (WISQOL). We calculated distance between patient and treatment site using national ZIP codes. We used linear models to evaluate the effect of distance on HRQOL, while also considering demographics data, stones/symptom status, and distance.

resultsOf the 1676 enrolled patients, 52% were male, 86% non-Latino White, and the mean age was 53 years. Mean distance to treatment site was 63.3 km (range 0-3774), with 74% reporting current stones and 45% current symptoms. WISQOL score and distance were negatively correlated for patients reporting current stones and symptoms (p=0.0010). Linear modelling revealed decreased WISQOL scores for patients with symptoms as distance increased from treatment site (p=0.0001), with a 4.7-point decrease for every 100 km traveled.

conclusionsStone disease imposes significant burden on patients' HRQOL due to a variety of factors. Patients with active stone symptoms report worse HRQOL with increased distance to their treatment site. Possible etiologies include travel burden, increased disease burden, decreased healthcare use, and delays in care.

Identifiers

PMID31702546
PMCPMC7124174

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.