Pediatric pyeloplasty: intubated versus nonintubated outcomes

¶ … Intubating in the Event of a Pyeloplasty: Article Review

Sarin, Y., Gupta, R. & Nagdeve. N. (2006). Pediatric pyeloplasty: Intubated vs. nonintubated. Indian Journal of Urology, 22(1).

According to the 2006 article by Sarin et al., traditional perspective and procedure on how best to accommodate the post-operative needs of infants suffering from pelviureteric junction obstruction is being shown to have flaws. Particularly, the article highlights the fact that, in cases where this obstruction to the drainage of renal fluid may exist, the traditional use of intubating or stent drainage of said fluid following the necessary pyeloplasty procedure is not only unneeded but also can diminish recovery opportunity. In a study which ultimately featured the experiences of 24 infants undergoing pyeloplasty procedures, Sarin would find that a significant set of evidence exists to indicate that intubated patients will undergo a longer recovery period and will likewise be more vulnerable to the onset of possible urinary tract infection or kidney infection.

In addition to the key point that intubating is an unnecessary and undesirable step in the handling of a pyeloplasty, Sarin et al. reveal something which may be seen as a serious obstacle in the face of what can ultimately be a problematic health concern. There is a strength in the study's design where the support of its hypothesis is concerned, with the comparison of control and experimental groups serving almost as secondary to the aim of simply establishing the absence of need for the process of intubating. Still, there is a weakness in the study's failure to obtain numerically comparable sample groups. With only four subjects of the 24 being intubating, the resultant 75% infection rate here may not tell the full story.