High Powered Stone Dusting vs. Fragmentation and Basketing at Time of Ureteroscopy

Prospective, Randomized Study to Assess Patient Satisfaction and Stone Free Effect of High Powered Stone Dusting vs. Fragmentation and Basketing at Time of Ureteroscopy

The purpose of this study is to determine the differences in stone free results, patient side effects, and patient satisfaction between dusting vs. basket extraction for kidney and ureteral stones (a kidney stone located in the tube between the kidney and bladder) 6 mm and greater in size undergoing ureteroscopic treatment.

Dusting is when a laser is used to break a stone down into tiny fragments that are able to pass through the urine. Basket extraction is when a small wire basket is used to remove stone fragments.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Kidney Stone; Ureteral Stone
• Intervention / Treatment: Procedure: Dusting; Procedure: Basket extraction

Detailed Description

On the day of surgery, the treatment assigned to the patient will be determined by chance, like flipping a coin. Neither the patient nor the study doctor will choose the treatment type. Each patient will have an equal chance of being given either surgical treatment. One group will have stones treated with high-powered laser dusting and the dust produced will pass spontaneously through the urine. The other group will have stones treated with low power laser fragmentation and stones will be removed using a basket. The surgical procedure will not differ from the treatment a patient would receive if he/she were not in this study.

After surgery, participants will complete a pain assessment questionnaire in the outpatient recovery area before being discharged to go home. Participants will also receive a daily email or text message to assess pain and daily activities. Participants will answer these questions daily until pain has resolved and daily activities have returned to baseline levels.

Six weeks after surgery, participants will undergo an ultrasound to assess for swelling of a kidney due to a build-up of urine (called hydronephrosis), which is standard of practice after ureteroscopy. Participants will also return to the urology clinic 12 weeks after surgery for a standard of care follow up visit. At this visit, participants will undergo standard of care procedures known as renal bladder ultrasound and kidney ureter bladder abdominal x-ray to evaluate for stones. Participants will also complete another pain assessment questionnaire at this appointment.

Researchers will review the medical record to evaluate the effectiveness of the surgery at removing kidney stones and preventing kidney stone recurrence as well as to track quality of life outcomes.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 168
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Illinois
    • Chicago, Illinois, United States, 60611
      • Northwestern Memorial Hospital

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 14 years to 85 years (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• >18 years of age
• undergoing ureteroscopic stone extraction
• Stone size 6mm stones or greater and the location to mid ureter or higher
• Willing to sign informed consent form
• Able to read, understand, and complete patient questionnaires, and pain questionnaires

Exclusion Criteria:

• < 18 years of age
• Inability to provide informed consent
• Concomitant surgery (i.e. Percutaneous nephrolithotomy, Holmium laser enucleation of the prostate
• Solitary kidney
• Nephrocalcinosis
• Members of vulnerable patient populations
• Patients without access to a phone that can receive txt messages

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Active Comparator: laser dusting; In the "dusting" arm, the ureteroscope will be advanced into the kidney or ureter over an access wire without an access sheath in place. The identified stone will be dusted using a 200 micron Moses laser fiber at a setting of 0.3-0.6 J and 50-120 Hz using the Moses 2.0 laser system. Stone dusting will continue until the surgeon feels the fragments are all negligible in size and would be able to pass. One small piece will be extracted for analysis and the remainder will be left to pass spontaneously. If there is no evidence of injury or swelling of the ureter at the conclusion of the case a stent will be omitted.	Procedure: Dusting; Dusting is when a laser is used to break a stone down into tiny fragments that are able to pass through the urine.
Active Comparator: basketing; In the Basketing arm, a ureteral access sheath (UAS) will be placed per standard fashion. The ureteroscope will be introduced into the kidney and the stone fragmented at a setting of 0.8-1.0 J and 6-15 Hz. The resultant fragments will be basket extracted through the sheath for analysis. All fragments will be removed until no residual stone remains. At the time of UAS removal the ureter will be inspected. If there is no evidence of ureteral injury or swelling then a stent will be omitted.	Procedure: Basket extraction; Basket extraction is when a small wire basket is used to remove stone fragments.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Stone free rate: clinical	patients with no clinical evidence of kidney stones on the treated side	6 weeks
Stone free rate: imaging	patients with no radiographic evidence of kidney stones on the treated side	6 weeks

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Patient quality of life- pain intensity	patient quality of life measures as assessed by the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) questionnaire Pain Intensity - Short Form 3a. Higher score indicates higher pain levels. Lowest score 3, highest score 15.	12 weeks
Patient quality of life- pain interference	patient quality of life measures as assessed by the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) questionnaire Pain Interference - Short Form 6b. Higher scores indicate higher levels of pain interference. Lowest score is 6, highest score is 30.	12 weeks
Return to work	Days missed from work after surgery	12 weeks
Daily activity level	Days until patients have returned to baseline pre-surgery daily activity level	12 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Northwestern University
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Amy Krambeck, MD, Northwestern University

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): July 28, 2021
• Primary Completion (Actual): July 1, 2023
• Study Completion (Actual): June 10, 2024

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: August 6, 2021
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: August 13, 2021
• First Posted (Actual): August 16, 2021

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): April 30, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: April 26, 2026
• Last Verified: July 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Urogenital Diseases; Male Urogenital Diseases; Calculi; Pathological Conditions, Anatomical; Kidney Diseases; Urologic Diseases; Female Urogenital Diseases; Female Urogenital Diseases and Pregnancy Complications; Urolithiasis; Urinary Calculi; Ureteral Diseases; Nephrolithiasis; Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms; Kidney Calculi; Ureterolithiasis; Complex Mixtures; Particulate Matter; Dust
• Other Study ID Numbers: STU00214998

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No
• product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.: No