PURPOSE To evaluate factors affecting the success rate of stone fragmentation and stone-free rate after extracorporeal shockwave lithotripsy (SWL) in treatment of upper urinary tract stones. MATERIALS AND METHODS A total of 121 patients with upper urinary tract calculi underwent SWL treatment. RESULTS Success rate of stone fragmentation after SWL was 73.6% (89/121). In 89 patients who had s...

OBJECTIVES To investigate the effect of stone fragmentation on late stone recurrence by comparing the outcome of extracorporeal shockwave lithotripsy (ESWL) and non-fragmenting percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL), and to investigate factors contributing to recurrent calculi. PATIENTS AND METHODS We evaluated stone recurrence in 647 patients who initially achieved a stone-free status after ESW...

There can be many reasons for engineers to place the footings near a slope such as leakage of suitable sites or architectural considerations. One of the approaches to increase the amount of bearing capacity, especially in soft soils, is adding stone columns to the soil. In this research, the behavior of a strip footing placed near a stone column reinforced clayey slope was investigated. For thi...

OBJECTIVE To assess the prediction of stone clearance and complications of percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL) using the 'STONE' nephrolithometry score, assessing stone size, tract length (skin-to-stone distance), degree of obstruction, number of calyces involved and stone essence (density). PATIENTS AND METHODS This was a prospective study of patients undergoing single-tract PCNL while prone...

Most patients with first-time kidney stones undergo limited evaluations, and few receive preventive therapy. A prediction tool for the risk of a second kidney stone episode is needed to optimize treatment strategies. We identified adult first-time symptomatic stone formers residing in Olmsted County, Minnesota, from 1984 to 2003 and manually reviewed their linked comprehensive medical records t...

Purpose This study aims to assess the predictive factors and treatment outcomes of Steinstrasse formation following shock wave lithotripsy (SWL) for ureter stone. Materials and Methods The medical records of 1,418 ureter stone patients who underwent one-session SWL from November 2005 to May 2013 at our medical institute were retrospectively reviewed. Finally, 551 patients met inclusion criter...

PURPOSE The aim of our study was to evaluate the association of several factors with spontaneous stone expulsion, including ureteral stone characteristics (size, location, hydronephrosis, perinephric stranding), types of medications prescribed (α-blocker, low-dose steroid), and other possible demographic and health-history factors (gender, age, serum creatinine, underlying diabetes mellitus [DM...

A new conodont species, Icriodus marieae, is described from pelagic limestone beds of the Carnic Alps (Austria). Specimens are obtained from the upper part of the Valentin Formation (Central Carnic Alps) and range from the latest Eifelian to middle Givetian. Significantly differing from other icriodontid conodonts is that the icriodontan element of the new species develops only three denticles ...