Innovations in urolithiasis management.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

This review provides a forecast about ongoing developments in the management of urolithiasis with a potential to challenge the current standard of care. We therefore emphasized innovative technology, which might be considered still experimental in the daily clinic or needs further clinical validation, but harbors the great potential to become a game changer for future stone management.

RECENT FINDINGS

Especially in the endoscopic stone treatment, we observed a multitude of groundbreaking technical innovations, which changed our treatment algorithms over the last decades. Some of this technology already found its way into daily practice. Others like artificial intelligence, burst wave lithotripsy, smart laser systems or gene therapy may not be standardized yet, but have the potential to further revolutionize current practice. Besides those technical features, we included innovations in prevention and diagnostics, as well as patient expectations and patient satisfaction into the analysis. A proper metaphylaxis and patient communication seems to be essential for a long-lasting treatment success.

SUMMARY

The combination of technical innovations, improved stone metaphylaxis and proper patient communication presents the cornerstone of future kidney stone management.