Role of Tamsulosin in Improving Double-J Ureteric Stent-Related Symptoms

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of tamsulosin in improving stent- related symptoms and quality of life (QoL) in patients with double-J (DJ) ureteric stents.Subjects and Methods: A total of 136 patients were prospectively evaluated and distributed randomly in two groups. Group 1 was 69 patients with mean age 35 years (range 20-56) and Group 2 was 67 patients with mean age 29 years (range 19-42). In Group 1, 43 cases had lower and 26 had upper ureteric stones. In Group 2, 47 patients had lower and 20 had upper ureteric stones. Ureteroscopic lithotripsy was performed in all patients and a DJ stent (6F, 26cm) was inserted post-operatively for about 4 weeks. Group 1 received tamsulosin 0.4mg orally once per day for 4 weeks. The patients were evaluated with the International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS) which consists of seven questions, three for irritative and four for obstructive symptoms. QoL was assessed with the QoL section of the IPSS and the short form 36 (SF-36) questionnaire which assesses patients in eight domains, including physical functioning, role limitations due to physical health or emotional disorders, vitality, mental health, social functioning, pain and general health.Results: The IPSS irritative and obstructive symptom scores as well as the QoL scores were significantly lower in Group 1 than Group 2 (p<0.031). The SF-36 role limitation due to physical health and pain scores were  significantly better in Group 1 than Group 2 (p<0.027). There were no significant differences in any other parameters. Five patients with  tamsulosin (7.2%) had side-effects in the form of headache and dizziness and the rest of the patients had no side-effects related to tamsulosin.Conclusion: The administration of a selective alpha1 blocker, such as tamsulosin improves ureteric stent-related urinary symptoms after ureteroscopy and disintegration of ureteric stones