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PURPOSE: To review the success rate and complications of radiologically guided percutaneous nephrostomies (PCNs) performed by urologists and compare the complication rates with the standards recommended by the Society of Interventional Radiology (SIR) and the American College of Radiology (ACR). PATIENTS AND METHODS: From January 1996 to December 2005, 667 patients had 765 PCNs performed by three urologists, with 74 patients having simultaneous bilateral PCNs. The mean age of the patients was 29 years (range 8 months-95 years). The medical records were reviewed for underlying diseases, success rate, and complications of PCN; and the results were assessed in comparison with recommendations made by SIR and ACR. RESULTS: The PCN was successful in 742 renal units (97%). A total of 26 of the 667 patients (3.89%) had major complications: 12 (1.79%) had sepsis, 10 (1.49%) had hemorrhage sufficient to necessitate transfusion, 1 (0.14%) had pleural injury that was managed conservatively, and another patient had a vascular complication necessitating nephrectomy. None of the patients had bowel transgression. Minor complications occurred in 61 patients (9.1%): urinary-tract infection in 17, PCN tube dislodgement in 11, catheter obstruction by clot or debris in 12, urine leakage around the PCN site in 8, and loss of the PCN catheter in 13. CONCLUSION: Percutaneous nephrostomy is a relatively safe, minimally invasive, and effective procedure with a low rate of morbidity. Our overall results in term of success rate and major complications are within the threshold limits set by the SIR and ACR. Hence, trained urologists can produce results similar to those of interventional radiologists. Learning of PCN should be mandatory in the training curriculum for all urology residents.
Rana et al. (Sun,) studied this question.