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Open research questions in Kidney Stones and Urolithiasis Treatments

659 gap statements mined from Kidney Stones and Urolithiasis Treatments papers in our 7.9M-paper local library, which holds 2,777 papers on the topic — drawn mostly from each paper's own stated research gap, future-work, challenge and limitation notes, and its abstract. The ones listed below are a selection still marked open; each names the study that raised it, with a DOI link where the paper has one.

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What the literature leaves open

  • Second, although complications were quantitatively evaluated using the CDC and CCI scores, their impacts on patient satisfaction, quality of life and the overall recovery process was not investigated.

    Complication profiling in ureteroscopy: A prospective multicenter comparison of the Clavien-Dindo classification and the comprehensive complication index · 2026 · DOI

  • The prevalence of kidney stones among deceased donors remains poorly defined but is likely substantial, consistent with incidental CT findings and reports in living donors.

    Intrarenal pressure during ex-vivo flexible ureteroscopy: a pilot experimental study in cadaveric kidneys · 2026 · DOI

  • Future external validation and prospective implementation studies are warranted to confirm generalizability and assess the real-world impact of AI-guided interventions on postoperative sepsis prevention.

    Artificial intelligence-based prediction of postoperative sepsis in patients undergoing suction mini-percutaneous nephrolithotomy in real world practice: a multicenter analysis from the global Suction Lechnology Utility in Mini-PCNL Study (STUMPS) registry · 2026 · DOI

  • To date, no studies have investigated the association between metabolic acidosis and kidney stone formation. Regarding the usefulness of serum metabolic assessment in the context of urolithiasis and its relationship to recurrence risk, no consensus has been reached.

    Metabolic abnormalities, recurrence risk, patient and stone characteristics in calcium-based pediatric stone formers: is there any association? · 2026 · DOI

  • Despite the relationship between UAS use and postoperative infections remains debated, the use of ureteral access sheath may have had a beneficial influence on the risk of life-threatening IC.

    Persistent asymptomatic bacteriuria despite targeted antibiotic treatment predicts infectious complications after RIRS: a 10-year experience with 1122 procedures · 2026 · DOI

  • Despite these limitations, this large cohort of patients from a regional referral center provides meaningful real-world data that enrich the current evidence and may stimulate discussion on a clinically relevant yet underexplored issue, particularly given the growing impact of antimicrobial resistance in modern medicine.

    Persistent asymptomatic bacteriuria despite targeted antibiotic treatment predicts infectious complications after RIRS: a 10-year experience with 1122 procedures · 2026 · DOI

  • Future multicenter prospective studies are warranted to establish HSK-adapted predictive tools that can better guide surgical planning and counseling.

    Limitations of standard scoring systems in predicting PCNL outcomes for horseshoe kidney patients · 2026 · DOI

  • Although the direct molecular mechanisms by which thyroid hormones affect CA and COM formation remain to be elucidated, we speculate based on existing research that multiple levels may be involved.

    Impact of thyroid diseases on urinary stone composition: a decade-Long analysis based on propensity score matching · 2026 · DOI

  • Another limitation is the lack of standardized cross-sectional imaging (CT/MRI), as routine postoperative CT or MRI is not recommended by current guidelines; therefore, we could not perform quantitative psoas morphometry or explore its relationship with positional changes.

    Impact of lithotomy position on ureteral course and psoas muscle: a combined survey and radiological evaluation by the EAU Endourology & YAU Endourology working groups · 2026 · DOI

  • Future studies should consider the incorporation in vivo or simulated models that may more accurately replicate renal anatomy and physiological conditions, assess suction performance during lithotripsy when deflected, and expand the scope of evaluation to include active deflection ureteroscopes and alternative FANS designs.

    Flexible and navigable suction ureteral access sheath’s impact on ureteroscope deflection · 2026 · DOI

  • Future research should focus on larger cohorts to confirm these metabolic trends, incorporating advanced imaging or 24-hour urine collections for more precise metabolic profiling.

    Pure vs. mixed calcium oxalate nephrolithiasis: metabolic determinants and stratified management strategies · 2026 · DOI

  • Future research should focus on optimizing patient-reported outcomes and adjuncts in making LA stent change more acceptable to patients.

    A hybrid model of ureteral stent change — ambulatory cystoscopy suite under local anesthesia versus operating room under general or monitored anesthesia · 2026 · DOI

  • Precision equipment miniaturization, suction-aspiration and digital nephroscopes benefits both surgeons and patients in SM-PCNL have improved ergonomics and visualization, although durability data remain limited.

    A feasibility study on utility of a new digital disposable semirigid nephroscope for Suction mini-percutaneous nephrolithotripsy · 2026 · DOI

  • Finally, renal pelvic volume and collecting system compliance were not quantified, and the time point at which the collecting system reached maximal distension could not be determined; these physiological factors may influence intrarenal pressure behavior and warrant further investigation.

    Correlation of simultaneously monitored intrarenal and irrigation pressures during ureteroscopy: an in vivo pilot study · 2026 · DOI

  • Despite decades of innovation, no single ureteral stent model currently fulfills all clinical requirements, underscoring the ongoing need for tailored, patient-specific solutions (Fig. 2). As highlighted previously, many technological concepts remain in preclinical stages and require further evaluation in human patients.

    Present and future of ureteral stent technology: a review by the EAU endourology section · 2026 · DOI

  • To date, only three prior studies, comprising a total of 371 patients, have directly compared renal functional changes between RIRS and mPCNL, with conflicting results.

    A Retrospective comparative analysis of postoperative renal function modification following retrograde intrarenal surgery versus minimally invasive percutaneous nephrolithotomy (≤ 26Ch) using serum creatinine-based metrics · 2026 · DOI

  • This was a major limitation when finding the control cohort and contributed to the matching strategy of using optimal matching with a variable number of controls. This study is limited by a small sample size, in part due to the relatively short duration under which saline-restricted conditions were implemented, but also because of inconsistent documentation of irrigation volume used in PCNL cases at our institution.

    Finding a solution: preliminary results of percutaneous nephrolithotomy outcomes under saline-restricted irrigation conditions · 2026 · DOI

  • Future research should focus on validating these findings in more complex in vitro and in vivo models and, ultimately, in clinical trials. Additionally, future studies could explore a wider range of pulse durations and frequencies for both laser types to further optimize their performance.

    An in-vitro comparative study of magneto holmium: YAG and fiber dust thulium fiber lasers—primary effects on ablation, retropulsion, fragmentation, and temperature changes using phantom urologic stones · 2026 · DOI

  • This systematic review with narrative synthesis demonstrates that the current evidence is insufficient to confirm or refute the superiority of HF over LF settings for laser lithotripsy in terms of SFR, operative time, or complication rates due to inseparable confounding by laser technology and power settings.

    Rethinking high-frequency lithotripsy: a review by EAU endourology group · 2026 · DOI

  • Several concrete steps are required before integration into clinical pathways: (1) Prospective, multicenter patient studies evaluating VNI/VNC reconstructions for stone detection within contrast-enhanced protocols, with predefined non-inferiority margins versus true non-contrast CT.

    Photon-counting CT-enabled urolithiasis phenotyping: virtual non-iodine reconstructions, automated measurement, and spectral radiomics · 2026 · DOI

  • By automating a critical detection task, this work addresses a significant gap in regional healthcare infrastructure, offering a tool that can reduce diagnostic times, minimize human error, and ultimately improve patient care outcomes. The project’s success underscores the transformative potential of artificial intelligence in modern medicine.

    A high-accurate model for kidney stone detection in CT images using advanced deep learning techniques · 2026 · DOI

  • Future research should focus on collecting and integrating data from diverse populations to further refine and recalibrate the model. These features are biologically plausible and less population dependent, suggesting that the model may be applicable across diverse groups, although future international validation is warranted to confirm its performance.

    Screening for Clinically Significant Nephrolithiasis Based on Simple Health Checkup Clinical and Urine Parameters in General Populations: Multicenter Machine Learning Study · 2026 · DOI

  • Surgeons should also receive training in compensatory techniques to address unavoidable length mismatches.

    How do we choose the optimal length of flexible and navigable suction ureteral access sheaths (FANS): an EAU endourology and AUSET prospective multicenter analysis · 2026 · DOI

  • In an analysis that included all patients, not limited to the bedridden individuals, Iremashvili et al. Consequently, few reports have examined the postoperative stone-related event-free interval in this population, and the sample sizes of these reports were limited to less than 40 cases.

    Aggressive stone removal in octogenarian bedridden elderly patients: analysis of safety and impact on the reduction of recurrent stone-related events · 2026 · DOI

  • In evaluating the procedural cost of flexible ureteroscopy with suction and its global variability, we did not account for additional factors such as expenses related to operating room utilisation, surgical, anaesthetic and nursing staff costs, bed occupancy, or pharmacological treatments.

    Global variation in acquisition costs of single-use flexible ureteroscopes and flexible navigable access sheaths: an international collaborative analysis from the YAU & EAU Endourology groups · 2026 · DOI

Most-cited papers in Kidney Stones and Urolithiasis Treatments

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Open questions raised by papers listed on this page include: (1) Future external validation and prospective implementation studies are warranted to confirm generalizability and assess the real-world impact of AI-guided interventions on postoperative sepsis prevention (“Artificial intelligence-based prediction of postoperative sepsis in patients…”, 2026); (2) To date, no studies have investigated the association between metabolic acidosis and kidney stone formation (“Metabolic abnormalities, recurrence risk, patient and stone characteristics in…”, 2026); (3) Future multicenter prospective studies are warranted to establish HSK-adapted predictive tools that can better guide surgical planning and counseling (“Limitations of standard scoring systems in predicting PCNL outcomes for…”, 2026); (4) Future research should focus on larger cohorts to confirm these metabolic trends, incorporating advanced imaging or 24-hour urine collections for more precise metabolic profiling (“Pure vs. mixed calcium oxalate nephrolithiasis: metabolic determinants and…”, 2026); (5) Future research should focus on optimizing patient-reported outcomes and adjuncts in making LA stent change more acceptable to patients (“A hybrid model of ureteral stent change — ambulatory cystoscopy suite under…”, 2026). 659 gap statements have been mined from Kidney Stones and Urolithiasis Treatments papers in our 7.9M-paper local library, which holds 2,777 papers on the topic; the gaps come from whichever of those papers state one. They are mostly the research gaps the authors state and the papers' abstracts, plus future-work, limitations and challenges passages. The ones listed below are a selection still marked open; each names the study that raised it, with a DOI link where the paper has one, so you can read the original claim in context.

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