It is efficient to monitor the status of implanted ureteral stent using a mobile social networking service application

AbstractForgotten ureteral stents (FUS) is a great threat to both patients and doctors. Applications on smartphones can significantly reduce the incidence of FUS. But existing applications do not have instant notification and consultation functions. To implement those function, we developed a ureteral stent tracking system embedded in a social networking service application, WeChat. “Ureteral Stent Tracking System” was developed on WeChat, a social media application using by 1.4 million active users. The study consecutively enrolled patients who underwent ureteral stent installation from April 2018 to July 2018. Each patient’s information was recorded on the smartphone b y the urologists to create a document immediately after the surgery. The system sends notifications twice a week to both patients and clinicians via the message function of WeChat. A total of 183 patients were enrolled. The most senior patient enrolled was 73 years old. 156 (85.2%) patients underwe nt stent extraction before the scheduled time. 22 did not undergo stent extraction before the scheduled time because of urinary tract infection or stone residue. They underwent stent extraction within 1 month after the scheduled time. Two patients did not come to the hospital until we had made a ph one call to them, though they had received notification from the online system. During the study, no patient was lost-to-follow up. In bilateral stents cases, no stent was forgotten after extraction surgery. A t...
Source: Urolithiasis - Category: Urology & Nephrology Source Type: research