Effect of tamsulosin on the expectant treatment of lower ureteral stones

Abstract

Purpose: We evaluated the effectiveness of tamsulosin on the expectant treatment for the patients suffering with lower ureteral stones. Materials and Methods: A total of 67 patients with stones less than 5mm that were located in the lower ureter were enrolled in the study. The patients were randomly divided into two groups. Group 1 (n=32) received 20mg caroverine (a spasmolytic drug) orally three time a day. Group 2 (n=35) received 0.2mg tamsulosin orally one time a day. The treatment was continued until expulsion of stone or to a maximum of 28 days. All patients were allowed 30mg ketorolac trimethamine intramuscular injections on demand. We compared the two groups for stone size, the expulsion rate, the time to expulsion and use of analgesics. Results: The average stone size was 4.3±0.61mm for group 1 and 4.4± 0.51mm for group 2. No statistical difference between two groups was found for stone size, age and sexual distribution. The expulsion rate was significantly higher in group 2 (82.8%), compared with group 1 (53.1%) (p=0.002). The mean expulsion time was 8.3 days for group 1 and 4.6 days for group 2 (p<0.0001). The average number of intramuscular analgesic injections was 3.9 for group 1 and 1.1 for group 2 (p<0.0001). Conclusions: Tamsulosin was proved to be effective and safe, as demonstrated by the increased stone expulsion rate, the decreased expulsion time and the reduced use of pain control in the expectant treatment of the lower ureter stones.