Photo Credit: Shivendu Jauhari

The following is a summary of “Impact of intraoperative furosemide and dexamethasone on complications following mini-percutaneous nephrolithotripsy: a retrospective propensity score-matched cohort study,” published in the April 2025 issue of BMC Urology by Wang et al. 

Researchers conducted a retrospective study to evaluate the effect of intraoperative furosemide (FUR) and dexamethasone (DEX) on postoperative complications following mini-percutaneous nephrolithotripsy (mini-PCNL).  

They conducted a retrospective cohort analysis of adult patients with kidney calculi treated with mini-PCNL. Exposure was the intravenous administration of FUR and DEX during mini-PCNL. The primary outcome was postoperative fever (≥ 38°C), and secondary outcomes were other complications. Propensity score matching (PSM) was performed at a 1:1 ratio. Subgroup analyses and interaction tests were used to examine differences among different demographic groups. 

The results showed that the pre-matched and propensity score-matched cohorts included 237 and 166 patients, respectively. In the PSM cohort, postoperative fever (≥ 38°C) occurred in 8.4% (7/83) of the FUR + DEX group and 20.5% (17/83) of the control group. The combined use of FUR and DEX was associated with a lower postoperative fever (P = 0.027). No significant difference was observed between the groups for other complications. SIRS occurred in 4.8% (4/83) of the FUR + DEX group and 8.4% (7/83) in the control group, while urosepsis rates were 2.4% (2/83) versus 3.6% (3/83). Subgroup analysis showed a significant reduction in postoperative fever in patients with an operation time of ≥ 2 h in the FUR + DEX group (P = 0.05). 

Investigators found that the intravenous combined use of FUR and DEX in mini-PCNL reduced postoperative fever (≥ 38°C), especially in patients with an operative time of ≥ 2 h. 

Source: bmcurol.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12894-025-01778-8