JPSIM Journal of Pakistan Society of Internal Medicine J Pak Soc Intern Med 2709-8729 2710-0804 Pakistan Society of Internal Medicine 10.70302/jpsim.v6i1.2513 jpsim.v6i1.2513 Original Research Ureteroscopy Under General Anesthesia Versus Spinal Anesthesia: Stone Clearance and Morbidity Butt Imran Masood Iqbal Umar umer8808@gmail.com * Saqib Muhammad Khan Muhammad Aslam Ali Mudassar Sheikh Fareeha Rashid Latif Medical College Lahore Punjab Institute of Neurosciences Lahore Children Hospital Lahore Allama Iqbal Medical College Lahore *Correspondence: Umar Iqbal (umer8808@gmail.com) 10 03 2025 2025 6 1 60 64 15 04 2024 22 01 2025 22 02 2025 Copyright © 2025 The Author(s) 2025 The Author(s) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Objective

This study aims to compare and contrast ureteroscopy procedures performed under spinal anesthesia and general anesthesia, focusing on complications, stone clearance rates, and relevant variables.

 Methodology

The study was conducted at the Kidney Centre, Women's University of Dera Ismail Khan, from January 2021 to January 2022, focusing on urinary calculus disease. A total of 100 patients aged 18 to 50 underwent ureteroscopic procedures for the treatment of ureteric stones, with 69 males and 31 females. The patients were divided into two groups: Group A received general anesthesia, and Group B underwent spinal anesthesia. Comprehensive data, including demographics, stone characteristics, operative time, hospital stay, and complications, were collected and analyzed using statistical methods.

 Results

Group B, with spinal anesthesia, exhibited a significantly shorter operative time (31.5 ± 2.15 minutes) compared to Group A under general anesthesia (41.5 ± 1.30 minutes, p=0.033). Group B also showed a trend towards shorter hospital stay (18.2 ± 6.9 hours) compared to Group A (22.6 ± 8.1 hours, p=0.073). Postoperative complications, such as pain, fever, and analgesia requirement, were comparable between the two groups.

 Conclusion

The study suggests that general anesthesia may be superior to spinal anesthesia for ureteroscopy in terms of safety and stone clearance rates, while spinal anesthesia is associated with a lower risk of complications. The findings underscore the effectiveness of ureteroscopy in treating lower ureteric stones and highlight the adaptability of anesthesia choices to individual patient needs.

 Keywords Ureteroscopy General anesthesia Spinal anesthesia Ureteric stones Ethics Statement

Ethics committee: Institutional Review Board / Ethics Committee (IRB/EC). Approval number: IRB/2020/024, dated 23-12-2020.

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