Abstract

Background: Recent studies have reported an increasing prevalence of urinary stone diseases (urolithiasis) worldwide. However, studies that evaluate the occurrence of stone diseases in Ethiopia are scarce. The objective of this study was to determine trends in the magnitude of urolithiais surgeries done in the last 13 years (2005 to 2017), and  its associated comorbidities in Ethiopia.

Methods: A total of 32,370 surgically treated patients was included in the study. Thirteen years retrospective data were collected from medical records (Log Books and Electronic Databases) at St. Paulos Tertiary Referral Hospital, September 2005 to 2017. Open surgical treatments related to urolithiasis were identified via a thorough review of patient medical records. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, and using Graph Pad Prism 6 Software.

Results: In the last 13 years, the overall urinary stone  surgery was seen in 2.3% (757) patients. Trends in the number of urolithiasis increased by 38.7%  from 2005 (1.3%) to 2017 (40.0%). The mean age at which the stones treated was 42.5 years. The prevalence of stone diseases was found to be higher in males (68.2%) than females (31.8%). The majority of stones (22.2%) were prevalent between 30 and 39 years of age, being the highest (63.1%) among males. Urolithiasis  increased in men and declined in women as age increased. The majority (46.5%) of stones was located in the kidneys, being higher on the left. Stone surgeries due to recurrent stone formers were 1.32% (10). The most common comorbidities associated with urolithiasis were reduced in urinary output, and benign prostatic hyperplasia.

Conclusion: The number of urolithiatic surgeries has been growing in the past 13 years in Ethiopia. This finding will raise the awareness of attending physicians and policy makers for prompt treatment interventions and to institute possible prevention measures  to minimize stone recurrences. Moreover, research on alternative traditional medicinal treatment must be conducted since there are wide claims in Ethiopian folk medicine about curing stone diseases.

Keywords: Ethiopia;  Magnitude; Urolithiasis; Surgery;Trends