RIRS in the elderly: is it feasible and safe?

The aim of this study was to compare the safety and efficacy of RIRS in men ≥65 years to those65 years.Patients who underwent RIRS were prospectively collected from March 2013 to March 2014 in 5 European centers. Perioperative outcomes and complications in elderly men were compared with men65 years. Univariable and multivariable analyses were performed for factors predicting overall complications. The groups were compared using Mann-Whitney U test. Categorical variables were compared using chi-squared test and the Yates correction or the Fisher's exact test.A total of 399 patients with renal stones were included, 308 (77.19%) were aged65 years, 91 (22.8%) were aged ≥65 years. Elderly patients were more likely to have higher ASA scores (35.7% vs 92.3%; p 001), Charlson Comorbidity Index (1.8 vs. 5.2, p 0.001), hyperlipidemia (10.06% vs. 30.76%; p = 0,0005) and coronary heart disease (5.51% vs. 17.58; p = 0.005) compared to younger cohort. Perioperative outcomes (stone free rate, operative time and re-intervention rate) did not show differences between the two groups (p 0.05). Surgical and medical complication rates were similar between the cohorts (14.28% vs 9.89%; p = 0.38). Multivariate analysis did not identify any predictive factors of complications among the two groups (p 0.05).In this study, elderly RIRS patients had comparable short term efficacy and perioperative complications to younger patients, despite a higher prevalence of comorbidity. Age itself should not be considered as a risk factor for the development of complications in patients undergoing RIRS for renal stone.