Re‐auditing a regional lithotripsy service

Objective To assess, in a repeat audit of a regional lithotripsy service, whether changes implemented after a regional audit in 1994 (which showed disappointing results from shock wave lithotripsy, attributable to both poor patient selection and an inadequate fixed‐site lithotripter) have had any effect. Patients and methods A data‐collection sheet was devised to gather information on the site, size and number of stones treated, together with information on the lithotripsy treatment and outcome. Patients selected for the audit were the first 50 new patients treated with lithotripsy at each centre in 1999. As only one hospital has a fixed‐site lithotripsy machine, the results of mobile lithotripsy were grouped by machine for analysis. Results There was an overall improvement in patient selection from the previous audits. Few stones of > 16 mm or