Patients and Method
This multicentric, retrospective study was carried out after approval was given by the Ethics Committee of Zonguldak Bulent Ecevit University (approval no: 2019/14). The number of patients was determined by power analysis. Demographic and clinical data of patients who underwent unilateral JJ stent placement after ureteroscopic stone surgery (USS) were evaluated. Because patients with JJ stents show a marked increase in SRS score from the seventh postoperative day [14, 15], all participants were assessed for the presence of SRS at least one week after the surgery, called the “first control visit.” Patients were given the validated Turkish version of the USSQ, which consists of six main domains: urinary symptoms, body pain, general health, work performance, sexual matters, and additional problems. The scores of each domain were summed, and the higher the total score, the higher the severity of SRS-related discomfort. Patients were given 50 mg of mirabegron once a day to relieve SRS from the first control visit and continued for at least three weeks until stent removal. Each patient was examined by a urologist to rule out urinary tract infection (UTI) and SRS before the JJ stent removal. The JJ stent was removed endoscopically after kidney-ureter-bladder (KUB) X-ray films were performed. The patient completed the USSQ-T form before stent removal. The design of the study is summarized in Figure 1.