Surveying ESWL impact on pancreatic enzymes

Urinary stones are the third most common disease of urinary tract. More than 90% of renal stones are successfully treated by ESWL with a success rate of 68-86%. The present study was conducted to survey ESWL impact on pancreatic enzymes. This descriptive-analytic study was performed on 87 patients suffered from renal stone. For all patients, a questionnaire including the demographic features, stone characteristics, and ESWL data, was filled, then, the serum lipase and amylase titers were obtained both before and 24 hours after ESWL. Data were analyzed by SPSS software. The study population included 58 men and 31 women with the mean age of 40 years. 48 had right-sided renal stones versus 39 with left-sided stone. The serum titers of amylase and lipase showed an increment in 57.5% and 61%, respectively, however, this increment was above normal range in only two patients. There was statistically significant association between the increment of serum amylase and lipase (P=0.0001). The increased serum amylase and lipase was more common in left ESWL. Only in one case of right renal stone, the serum lipase and amylase showed significant elevation following ESWL. In spite of the harmlessness of ESWL for pancreas, it is recommended to measure serum lipase or amylase in ESWL of right kidney to detect the rare cases of acute pancreatitis.