Classification and standardized reporting of percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL): International alliance of urolithiasis (IAU) consensus statements

Background: To reach a consensus in the classification and standardized reporting for the different types of PCNLs. Methods: The RAND/UCLA appropriateness methodology was used to reach a consensus. Thirty-two statements were formulated reviewing the literature on guidelines and consensus on PCNLs, and included procedure specific details, outcome measurements and a classification for PCNLs. Experts were invited to two rounds of input, the first enabled independent modifications of the proposed statements and provided the option to add statements. The second round facilitated scoring of all statements. Each statement was discussed in the third round to decide which statements to include. Any suggestion or disagreement was debated and discussed to reach a consensual agreement. Results: Twenty-five recommendations were identified to provide standardised reporting of procedure and outcomes. Consensual scoring above 80% were strongly agreed upon by the panel. The top treatment related outcomes were size of sheath used (99.1%) and position for PCNL (93.5%). The highest ranked Outcome Measures included definition of post-operative hospital length of stay (94.4%) and estimated blood loss (93.5%). Conclusions: The consensus statements will be useful to clarify operative technique, in the design of clinical trials and standardized reporting, and presentation of results to compare outcomes of different types of PCNLs.