NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - The use of shock waves to break up kidney stones does not seem to lead to the development of high blood pressure, according to Japanese researchers.

By focusing shock waves on the kidneys, stones can be shattered into small particles, which are then flushed out with the normal flow of urine. However, there have been concerns that the procedure, called shock wave lithotripsy or SWL, could damage the kidneys and lead to hypertension.

Reassuringly, data from long-term follow-up "suggests that SWL is a safe treatment," Dr. Yoshikazu Sato told Reuters Health,

Sato and colleagues at Sanjukai Hospital, Sapporo, studied 772 patients with kidney stones who underwent shock wave lithotripsy, comparing them with 505 patients with stones in the ureters, the tubes leading from the kidneys; they were also treated with shock wave lithotripsy, but were unlikely to have sustained kidney damage from the procedure.

Follow-up 10 years after treatment showed that in the kidney stone group, hypertension developed in 22.8 percent of men and 23.1 percent of women. Corresponding rates in the ureter stone group were 20.0 percent and 20.5 percent, the researchers report in the medical journal Urology.

Statistically, there were no differences between the groups, for men or women. Despite these reassuring findings, Sato concluded that "efforts towards minimizing damage and identification of optimal patients for SWL are required."

SOURCE: Urology, April 2008.

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