{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,27]],"date-time":"2026-09-27T00:57:55Z","timestamp":1790470675580,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":17,"publisher":"PAGEPress Publications","issue":"3","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,25]],"date-time":"2026-09-25T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1790294400000},"content-version":"unspecified","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc\/4.0"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Arch Ital Urol Androl"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background: Telemedicine has gained increasing importance in urology, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, enabling remote patient monitoring and reducing hospital visits. To evaluate the feasibility, safety, and effectiveness of a WhatsApp-based telemedicine follow-up model in patients with ureteral stones managed conservatively.\nMethods: A cross-sectional study was conducted between March and May 2020. Ninety-nine patients with a single ureteral stone &lt; 10 mm were included. All patients received medical expulsive therapy and were followed for 30 days using a structured WhatsApp-based monitoring system. Pain scores, analgesic use, stone passage, complications, and patient satisfaction were recorded.\nResults: The median age was 55 years, and the mean stone size was 6.1 \u00b1 1.5 mm. Spontaneous stone passage occurred in 34.3% of patients, while 26.2% required JJ stent placement. Larger stone size (p &lt; 0.001) and proximal location (p = 0.002) were associated with intervention. Pain scores and analgesic requirements decreased significantly over time (p &lt; 0.01). No major complications were observed. WhatsApp-based monitoring enabled timely clinical decision-making and reduced unnecessary hospital visits.\nConclusions: WhatsApp-assisted telemedicine is a feasible, safe, and cost-effective approach for managing ureteral stones. Larger prospective studies are required to validate these findings.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.4081\/aiua.2026.15821","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,25]],"date-time":"2026-09-25T13:05:44Z","timestamp":1790341544000},"source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["WhatsApp-assisted telemedicine for ureteral stone management: a pilot study"],"prefix":"10.4081","volume":"98","author":[{"given":"Rifat Burak","family":"Ergul","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Mus State Hospital, Mus, Turkey; \u00a0EAU Young Academic Urologists (YAU) Urolithiasis and Endourology Working Group Arnhem"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Salvatore","family":"Buttic\u00e8","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Urology, Paolo Borsellino Hospital, Marsala"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"M. Firat","family":"Ozervarli","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Urology, Faculty of Medicine, Istanbul University"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ilker","family":"Teke","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Urology, Faculty of Medicine, Istanbul University"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Emanuele","family":"Caldarera","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Urology, Paolo Borsellino Hospital, Marsala"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Alberto","family":"Perez-Lanzac","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Health and Sports, Faculty of Medicine, Universidad Europea de Madrid, Spain;\u00a0APL Urolog\u00eda, Hospital Vithas Arturo Soria, Madrid"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Tarik Emre","family":"Sener","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"EAU Young Academic Urologists (YAU) Urolithiasis and Endourology Working Group Arnhem, The Netherlands;\u00a0 Department of Urology, Marmara University School of Medicine, Istanbul"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Laurian","family":"Dragos","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Urology, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Cambridge"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Tzevat","family":"Tefik","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Urology, Faculty of Medicine, Istanbul University"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"2549","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,25]]},"reference":[{"key":"253331","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.oooo.2015.11.005"},{"key":"253332","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.sintl.2021.100117"},{"key":"253333","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.euros.2023.02.005"},{"key":"253334","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/s11934-024-01224-6"},{"key":"253335","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.amjsurg.2014.08.030"},{"key":"253336","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.juro.2007.09.107"},{"key":"253337","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.eururo.2020.06.025"},{"key":"253338","unstructured":"8. 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