Silodosin Versus Tamsulosin for Treatment of Ureteral Stones

Summary

Ureteral calculi, commonly known as kidney stones, are a frequent cause of Emergency Department (ED) visits. These stones can get caught in the ureter (the tube connecting the kidney to the bladder) and cause symptoms including pain, nausea, and vomiting. As long as the obstructing stone meets certain conditions and the patient isn't too sick, the patient is usually sent home to try and pass the stone without surgery. This treatment is known as medical expulsive therapy (MET), and routinely involves the use of a drug called tamsulosin, which relaxes the smooth muscle of the urinary system to help the stone pass. Silodosin is a drug in the same class of tamsulosin, but which is thought to have a more selective action and a quicker onset, which would theoretically make it better for aiding in kidney stone passage. The purpose of this study is a head-to-head, blinded comparison of these two drugs to see how quickly they result in stone passage. Subjects are patients presenting to the ED with acute kidney stone shown by CT scan, and who are appropriate for MET. The main study intervention is randomization to receiving either tamsulosin or silodosin. The hypothesis is that silodosin will have decreased time to stone passage compared to tamsulosin. Subjects who qualify and consent are randomized to a two-week course of either silodosin or tamsulosin. They are also given prescriptions for standard of care medications for pain and nausea, as well as a pain diary. They receive a follow-up phone call after one week to remind them of their follow-up appointment, ask about adverse events, and determine if their stone has passed. They have a follow-up visit with study staff at the end of their two week treatment to collect their pain diary, pill count, adverse events, and to determine if their stone has passed. Study participation ends after this follow-up visit.

Timeline

Start

2013-03

Primary completion

2013-10

Completion

2013-10

Publications

• Background Hollingsworth JM, Rogers MA, Kaufman SR, Bradford TJ, Saint S, Wei JT, Hollenbeck BK. Medical therapy to facilitate urinary stone passage: a meta-analysis. Lancet. 2006 Sep 30;368(9542):1171-9. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(06)69474-9.
• Background Parsons JK, Hergan LA, Sakamoto K, Lakin C. Efficacy of alpha-blockers for the treatment of ureteral stones. J Urol. 2007 Mar;177(3):983-7; discussion 987. doi: 10.1016/j.juro.2006.10.023.
• Background Pedro RN, Hinck B, Hendlin K, Feia K, Canales BK, Monga M. Alfuzosin stone expulsion therapy for distal ureteral calculi: a double-blind, placebo controlled study. J Urol. 2008 Jun;179(6):2244-7; discussion 2247. doi: 10.1016/j.juro.2008.01.141. Epub 2008 Apr 18.
• Background Steinberg PL. Re: Karim Bensalah, Margaret Pearle and Yair Lotan. Cost-effectiveness of medical expulsive therapy using alpha-blockers for the treatment of distal ureteral stones. Eur urol 2008;53:411-9. Eur Urol. 2008 Aug;54(2):469; author reply 469. doi: 10.1016/j.eururo.2008.01.077. Epub 2008 Feb 4. No abstract available.
• Background Hermanns T, Sauermann P, Rufibach K, Frauenfelder T, Sulser T, Strebel RT. Is there a role for tamsulosin in the treatment of distal ureteral stones of 7 mm or less? Results of a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Eur Urol. 2009 Sep;56(3):407-12. doi: 10.1016/j.eururo.2009.03.076. Epub 2009 Apr 3.
• Background Preminger GM, Tiselius HG, Assimos DG, Alken P, Buck AC, Gallucci M, Knoll T, Lingeman JE, Nakada SY, Pearle MS, Sarica K, Turk C, Wolf JS Jr; American Urological Association Education and Research, Inc; European Association of Urology. 2007 Guideline for the management of ureteral calculi. Eur Urol. 2007 Dec;52(6):1610-31. doi: 10.1016/j.eururo.2007.09.039. No abstract available.
• Background Kobayashi S, Tomiyama Y, Hoyano Y, Yamazaki Y, Sasaki S, Kohri K. Effects of silodosin and naftopidil on the distal ureter and cardiovascular system in anesthetized dogs: comparison of potential medications for distal ureteral stone passage. J Urol. 2010 Jan;183(1):357-61. doi: 10.1016/j.juro.2009.08.106.
• Background H Lepor et al. Double-Blind, Randomized, Parallel-Group Study To Define Electrocardiographic Effects Of Silodosin. Journal of Urology 179(4), May 2008

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