Effects of Extracorporeal Shock Wave Lithotripsy on Electrocardiogram Changes in Patients with Renal Stone

Background and Extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL) is initial treatment of choice for most calculi in the kidney. Although ESWL has many side effects one of which is cardiac arrhythmia, occurring mostly in non-synchronized mode. The aim of this research was to determine the effect of extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy on electrocardiogram changes in patients with renal stone. This quasi-experimental study was carried out on 75 patients with renal stone who were selected by non-probability and convenience sampling. Then electrocardiograph was obtained from participants before, during and after lithotripsy. The relationship between ESWL-associated arrhythmia and autonomic neural activity was evaluated by heart rate spectral analysis. Electrocardiogram changes were interpreted and the data were analyzed in SPSS and SAS using chi-square, independent t-test, paired t-test, McNemar, Cochrane, One-way ANOVA and general linear model. ESWL was found to elicit new or worsened electrocardiogram changes in 66.7 percent patients with no previous cardiac disease. A statistically significant correlation was demonstrated between the presence of ventricular premature contractions and analgesic drugs (p<0.001) and between the presence of ventricular tachycardia and treatment duration (p<0.001). Shock waves delivered by lithotripsy cause cardiac arrhythmia.