EARLY DETECTION OF INFECTED URETERAL OBSTRUCTION AFTER SWL EMPLOYING C-REACTIVE PROTEIN

Infection of the obstructed upper urinary tract is a severe complicati on of stone disease, Early detection and therapy is crucial to prevent septicemia, The authors investigated prospectively whether C-reactive protein (CRP) might act as a marker for the early detection of infect ed upper urinary tract obstruction, The serum concentration of CRP was compared with the classic markers of inflammation-white blood cell (W BC) count, erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), and temperature-in th e follow-up of 85 patients undergoing 173 extracorporeal shockwave lit hotripsy (SWL) treatments, Post-SWL, 69% of the patients showed dilati on of the upper tract on ultrasonography and 16.5% became symptomatic and required intervention, In this group, the mean CRP value was incre ased 18-fold, whereas the WBC count, ESR, and temperature were not mar kedly raised, In contrast, patients with no need for additional treatm ent showed no more than a 2-fold increase in CRP, C-Reactive protein s eems to be a useful indicator for the early detection of infected uppe r urinary tract obstruction.