BAUS Section of Endourology national Ureteroscopy audit: setting the standards for revalidation

Abstract

Objective: Ureteroscopic stone treatment is one of endourology’s ‘signature’ procedures. With a view to forthcoming revalidation demands and improving outcomes, there was a need for the British Association of Urological Surgeons (BAUS) Section of Endourology and its individual members to know how commonly, competently and successfully this procedure is performed. Methods: All surgeons belonging to the BAUS Section of Endourology undertaking ureteroscopy (URS) for stone treatment in the United Kingdom were invited to take part in a two-week prospective audit with the instructions to input all URS performed for stone disease in that period on a standardised proforma. Results: In total, 143 procedures were reported over two weeks. Peri-operative practices varied in the use of on the day pre-operative imaging, stent usage and treatment modality. Overall stone free rates for all URS was 78% with a complications rate of 4%. Conclusion: This is the first study of its kind to have highlighted the demographics of patients undergoing URS in the UK and provides surgeons with information on practices around the country. It also provides realistic outcomes from real-life practice which, if taken forward to a registry, may be incorporated into revalidation.