Clinical characteristics and short-term outcomes of adult patients with urolithiasis: first report from Somalia

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to investigate the data of adult patients admitted to the only tertiary care center in Somalia with the diagnosis of urolithiasis and to present the first report from this Sub-Saharan African country. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This study was designed as a retrospective single-center study conducted in Somalia Turkiye Training and Research Hospital. Adult patients who received the diagnosis of urolithiasis and who were admitted to the urology department constituted the target population. Reviewed data included demographic parameters, stone features, type of surgical procedure, intraoperative and early postoperative complications, and inpatient mortality. RESULTS: Overall, 3,680 patients were admitted during the study period. Among these, 620 (17%) patients were admitted due to urolithiasis. There was a significant male predominance with a male-to-female ratio of 3.4:1. Urinary bladder was the most common stone location (n=253, 40.8%), followed by the kidney (n=223, 35.9%). The mean stone diameter was 22.41 (5-64); most (39.4%) of the patients had a stone diameter between 20 and 30 mm, while 27.5% had stones with diameters between 10 and 20 mm. Minimally invasive procedures were the primary surgical modality in 52.6% (n=326) of our patients. However, 45.9% (n=285) of the patients underwent open surgery. CONCLUSIONS: The rate of adults with urolithiasis is relatively high in Somalia, as in many other African countries, with a significant male predominance. Although open surgery is rarely used for treating adult urolithiasis in industrialized countries, this approach is still commonly used in Somalia, similar to other parts of Africa.