ArticleCureus2025
Efficacy of Holmium: Yttrium-Aluminum-Garnet (YAG) Laser in the Treatment of Proximal Ureteral Stones in Adults.
Article in Cureus, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It has been retracted, and should not be counted. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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.
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.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
- Retraction · 2025-11-11Concerns/Issues about Data · Concerns/Issues about Methods · Concerns/Issues about Results and/or Conclusions · Objections by Author(s) ·
- Retracted
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundProximal ureteral stones can cause significant morbidity, and their management remains challenging, particularly in cases where conservative treatment fails. Holmium: Yttrium-Aluminum-Garnet (Ho: YAG) laser lithotripsy has evolved as a minimally invasive and efficient management option. Our research aims to evaluate the efficacy of the Ho: YAG laser in treating proximal ureteral stones in adult patients.
methodsThis prospective non-randomized study was conducted in the Department of Urology, Mardan Medical Complex, Pakistan, over a six-month period from January to June 2024. A total of 106 adult patients aged 18-60 years with proximal ureteral stones (7-15 mm) were included through consecutive sampling. All patients underwent Ho: YAG laser lithotripsy using a 550 μm fiber (Karl Storz SE & Co. KG, Baden-Württemberg, Germany), with a pulse frequency of 8-10 Hz and a power setting of 9.6-16 W. Patients were evaluated on the 14th postoperative day to assess stone clearance. Efficacy was defined as the complete absence of residual stones ≥4 mm. Data were analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 23 (Released 2015; IBM Corp., Armonk, New York, United States), with chi-square tests applied for stratified comparisons.
resultsThe mean age of patients was 33 ± 12.3 years; 66% were male and 34% female. The overall success rate was 82% (n = 87). Stratified analysis showed significantly higher efficacy in patients with smaller stones (7-10 mm) compared to larger stones (92% vs. 70%, p = 0.003) and in non-obese patients compared to obese individuals (96% vs. 69%, p = 0.0002). No statistically significant differences were observed across gender or age groups.
conclusionHo: YAG laser lithotripsy is a very effective and safe management option for proximal ureteral stones, especially in non-obese patients with smaller stones. Its successful implementation in a resource-limited South Asian setting highlights both the feasibility and clinical value of adopting advanced endourological procedures in low- and middle-income countries, where access to such technologies is often limited.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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.