Role of ureteral stent material and coating to prevent ureteral stent related issue: A systematic review and meta analysis

Introduction: Ureteral stents require materials that balance bulk and surface properties. Achieving both can be challenging, as ideal bulk properties may not align with optimal surface properties. Thus, researching coatings and biomanufacturing methods for ideal materials is essential.
Methods: A systematic review and meta-analysis, following PRISMA Guidelines, involved literature searches across five databases: PubMed, Scopus, Embase, ClinicalKey, and Cochrane. From 417 screened articles, eight studies were deemed eligible for qualitative and quantitative analysis. The selected articles underwent bias assessment using ROB Tools 2.
Results: The systematic review analyzed 1.356 participants. Findings revealed that firm ureteral stents significantly increased risk of infection, hematuria, and lower body pain. On the contrary, soft stents reduced infection (OR: 0.62; p=0.004), hematuria (OR: 0.60; p<0.001), and lower body pain (OR: 0.63; p=0.0002). However, infection reduction effect was uncertain due to heterogeneity. Coated vs non-coated material analysis found no difference in encrustation (OR: 1.26; p=0.52) or infection (OR: 1.67; p=0.99). Stent firmness did not affect encrustation on double J stent (OR: 0.97; p=0.17).
Conclusions: Softer materials like silicone are preferred for ureteral stents to reduce symptoms like hematuria and lower body pain. Coatings like silver nanoparticles and triclosan, while enhancing antimicrobial properties, did not effectively lower infection risk.