Carreño-Manzanillas et al. (2026)
comparativa de modalidad es baja; los hallazgos recientes a favor de PCN para rapidez de
respuesta requieren replicación multicéntrica.
Palabras claves: nefrostomía percutánea; stent ureteral; doble J; pielonefritis obstructiva;
urosepsis; obstrucción ureteral; urolitiasis; revisión sistemática.
Abstract
Introduction. Upper urinary tract obstruction accompanied by infection—whether presenting as
obstructive pyelonephritis, SIRS, or urosepsis—constitutes a urological emergency requiring
source control via decompression. The two standard approaches are retrograde ureteral stenting
(
RUS/DJ) and percutaneous nephrostomy (PCN). Objective. To compare the effectiveness and
safety of RUS versus PCN in patients with infected upper urinary tract obstruction, focusing on
mortality, drainage success, resolution of sepsis/inflammation, length of hospital stay, and
complications. Methods. A systematic review following the PRISMA 2020 framework was
conducted. Search strategies were designed for PubMed/MEDLINE, Google Scholar, SciELO,
and Scopus, covering the period from each database's inception to August 25, 2026, and
supplemented by reference tracking. Comparative studies with verifiable full text comparing PCN
and RUS/DJ in cases of obstruction-associated infection, SIRS, obstructive pyelonephritis, or
urosepsis were included. Trials were assessed using RoB 2 and non-randomized studies using
ROBINS-I; certainty of evidence was evaluated using the GRADE approach. Due to clinical
heterogeneity, disparate definitions, treatment crossovers, and the predominance of
observational data, a structured synthesis was performed rather than potentially misleading *de
novo* meta-analysis. Results. Fourteen comparative studies representing 44,469 patients/clinical
events were included, comprising four randomized or quasi-randomized trials (or prospective
studies) and ten comparative cohort studies. Historical trials and the 2023 trial showed no
consistent differences in clinical recovery between PCN and RUS; A trial of 200 patients published
in 2026 found faster normalization of temperature (3.5 ± 0.7 vs. 6.0 ± 1.4 h) and leukocyte counts
(
2.5 ± 0.6 vs. 3.5 ± 0.6 days), as well as a shorter hospital stay (2.5 ± 0.6 vs. 3.5 ± 0.6 days), with
PCN. In contrast, a cohort of 202 diabetic patients with infected obstruction favored RUS
regarding complications of Clavien-Dindo grade ≥II (11.0% vs. 34.3%), renal preservation, and
UTI recurrence. Among 34,009 septic patients in the NIS, the mortality difference disappeared
after propensity matching (RUS 3.4% vs. PCN 4.0%; p=0.19). In an NIS study (2016–2022) of
9
,172 patients, decompression within 24 hours was associated with lower mortality, whereas the
apparent disadvantage of PCN by modality was considered susceptible to residual confounding
by indication. Conclusions. Both techniques are valid for urgent source control. Evidence does
not demonstrate the universal superiority of either modality. The choice should be guided by time
to decompression, anatomical feasibility, hemodynamic stability, retrograde access,
coagulopathy, local availability, and the definitive treatment plan. The certainty regarding mortality
and the comparative superiority of the modalities is low; recent findings favoring PCN for speed
of response require multicenter replication.
Keywords: percutaneous nephrostomy; ureteral stent; double-J stent; obstructive pyelonephritis;
urosepsis; ureteral obstruction; urolithiasis; systematic review.
shock séptico y muerte. Las guías
1. Introducción
europeas actuales consideran que
un riñón obstruido con signos de
infección urinaria y/o anuria requiere
descompresión urgente, ya sea
La combinación de infección y
obstrucción de la vía urinaria
superior es una emergencia tiempo-
dependiente. El aumento de presión
intrarrenal y la imposibilidad de un
mediante
stent
ureteral
o
nefrostomía percutánea, junto con
antibióticos inmediatos y diferimiento
drenaje
adecuado
favorecen
bacteriemia, lesión renal aguda,
1450