Does early removal of double J stents reduce urinary infection in living donor renal transplantation?

INTRODUCTION: Prophylactic use of double J (DJ) stents in recipients is highly accepted in renal transplantation. In this study, the association between the frequency of urologic complications (UC) and urinary tract infections (UTI), and the early or late removal of DJ stents was investigated. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A total of 116 live-donor renal transplant patients were included in the study during a 4-year period, with a mean follow-up of 29.2 ±15.3 months. In all, DJ stents were used. All patients were clinically monitored for graft function by assessment of the complete blood count, renal biochemistry, urine analysis and blood drug level according to our follow-up protocol. RESULTS: The patients were divided into 2 groups according to the time of their stent removal: group I (n = 44), removal within the first 14 days; and group II (n = 72), removal after 14 days. No urinary leaks were detected in either of the groups. Three patients suffered from anastomotic stricture (group I, n = 1; group II, n = 2). The rates of UTI were similar in groups I and II (13.6% vs. 16.6%, respectively, p = 0.79). The rate of UTI in women was found to be 3.8 times higher than in men. CONCLUSIONS: The results of our study demonstrated that DJ stent removal within 14 days did not reduce the risk of UTI when compared to stent removal after 14 days. Similar effects on complication rates for ureteral stenting for these 2 removal periods were observed.