What does this research mean for the field?

While shockwave lithotripsy (SWL) remains widely available globally, its role in urinary stone management has shifted in favor of ureteroscopy, with treatments frequently performed by specialized technicians rather than urologists. Novelty: ClaimNovelty.INCREMENTAL. Consensus alignment: ConsensusAlignment.NEUTRAL.

What question did this study set out to answer?

To evaluate global practice patterns for shock wave lithotripsy (SWL), assess its utilization relative to other stone therapies, and identify future innovations that could enhance its clinical utility.

August 23, 2026Scientific ReportsOpen Access

Global status of SWL in the era of contemporary urinary stone management—a snapshot analysis amongst 3761 urologists

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Authors

AAAbdulrahman Alwani AHAbdullah Hamdullah SASleiman Alhajj

Discussion

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Overview

A cross-sectional survey reveals shifting shock wave lithotripsy use among urologists across 108 countries, indicating a transition toward ureteroscopy in urinary stone management.

Key Points

To evaluate global practice patterns for shock wave lithotripsy (SWL), assess its utilization relative to other stone therapies, and identify future innovations that could enhance its clinical utility.
Conducted a multilingual (7 languages) cross-sectional survey via SurveyMonkey distributed to Société Internationale d’Urologie members and trainees across 108 countries (N=3,761).
Collected clinician demographics and practice patterns regarding shock wave lithotripsy (SWL), ureteroscopy (URS), and percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL).
Analyzed survey responses using descriptive statistics via SAS Version 9.4.
Of 3,761 responding urologists, 50.1% were located in Asia, 61.5% had >20 years of clinical practice, and 84.6% practiced in high-income countries.
SWL training was completed during residency by 62.7% of providers, though treatments are most frequently administered by specialized technicians (48.1%), predominantly utilizing Dornier (28.1%) or Siemens (17.7%) machines.
High-volume stone centers perform SWL and URS in equal proportions, whereas lower-volume centers distribute cases among SWL, URS, and PCNL, reflecting an overall transition favoring URS.

Cite This Study

Alwani et al. (2026) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6a8aadf37677a341144468ce https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-66655-2

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August 23, 2026Scientific ReportsOpen Access

Global status of SWL in the era of contemporary urinary stone management—a snapshot analysis amongst 3761 urologists

View Full Paper

Ask AI

Bookmark

Authors

AAAbdulrahman Alwani AHAbdullah Hamdullah SASleiman Alhajj

Discussion

Member takes

Overview

A cross-sectional survey reveals shifting shock wave lithotripsy use among urologists across 108 countries, indicating a transition toward ureteroscopy in urinary stone management.

Key Points

To evaluate global practice patterns for shock wave lithotripsy (SWL), assess its utilization relative to other stone therapies, and identify future innovations that could enhance its clinical utility.
Conducted a multilingual (7 languages) cross-sectional survey via SurveyMonkey distributed to Société Internationale d’Urologie members and trainees across 108 countries (N=3,761).
Collected clinician demographics and practice patterns regarding shock wave lithotripsy (SWL), ureteroscopy (URS), and percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL).
Analyzed survey responses using descriptive statistics via SAS Version 9.4.
Of 3,761 responding urologists, 50.1% were located in Asia, 61.5% had >20 years of clinical practice, and 84.6% practiced in high-income countries.
SWL training was completed during residency by 62.7% of providers, though treatments are most frequently administered by specialized technicians (48.1%), predominantly utilizing Dornier (28.1%) or Siemens (17.7%) machines.
High-volume stone centers perform SWL and URS in equal proportions, whereas lower-volume centers distribute cases among SWL, URS, and PCNL, reflecting an overall transition favoring URS.

Cite This Study

Alwani et al. (2026) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6a8aadf37677a341144468ce https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-66655-2

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