Treatment of stab wounds of the kidney.

Introduction. Penetrating kidney injuries account for 19,5% of renal trauma. In peacetime stab wounds prevail in the structure of penetrating kidney injuries. The search for optimal treatment methods for penetrating kidney injuries remains one of the pressing issues of modern emergency urology. Objective of the study. To assess the outcomes of management for stab wounds of the kidney using different methods of treatment. Materials and methods. A retrospective study included 63 patients who received treatment at the Dzhanelidze Research Institute of Emergency Medicine from 1998 to 2021 with stab wounds of the kidney. Patients were divided into two groups based on the treatment method: surgical or conservative. The MannWhitney U-test was used to assess the statistical significance of differences between the two independent groups. Differences between the indicators were considered significant at p<0,05. Results and discussion. Treatment for stab wounds of the kidney was performed surgically in 46 (73%) patients and conservatively in 17 (27%) patients. Posttraumatic complications were observed in 26,1% of patients who underwent surgery and in 23,5% of patients who received conservative treatment (p=0,85). Deaths occurred in two cases due to severe combined trauma. The median length of stay for patients receiving conservative treatment was 12 (10-13) days, while the median length of stay for patients undergoing surgery was 17,5 (15,3-21,0) days (p<0,001). Conclusions. Management for stab wounds of the kidney is determined by the overall condition of the patient, hemodynamic stability, presence of combined injuries, severity of trauma, grading of renal injury, experience of the surgeon, and technical capabilities of the medical institution.