Release over-generalizes benefit of drug for kidney stone relief

Does the news release adequately discuss the costs of the intervention?

Not Satisfactory

The release gives a brief nod to costs when it quotes the lead author stating “this has potential to improve care and reduce costs,” but it goes no further. There is no mention of the cost of tamsulosin, nor the length of time patients might need to take it to relieve kidney stones.

Does the news release adequately quantify the benefits of the treatment/test/product/procedure?

Not Satisfactory

In the release, the clinical trial leader describes the benefits as:

“Of more than 400 patients in the trial, we found those who received tamsulosin passed their large kidney stones more often than the placebo group.

“This means patients with large stones might not need more complicated treatments including surgeries, and this has potential to improve care and reduce costs. We’re very excited because Tamsulosin treatment may also allow patients to be treated closer to home rather than needing referral to a major centre.”

The release would have been much better had it stated what “more often” actually meant. How many more patients on tamsulosin passed their stones compared to those on placebo?

In addition, the release could have more carefully differentiated which patient group might benefit from the drug intervention. According to the study abstract:

“We found no benefit overall of 0.4 mg of tamsulosin daily for patients with distal ureteric calculi less than or equal to 10 mm in terms of spontaneous passage, time to stone passage, pain, or analgesia requirements. In the subgroup with large stones (5 to 10 mm), tamsulosin did increase passage and should be considered.”

The published study reported that of the 36 patients on the drug with large kidney stones — those between 5 and 10 mm — 30 (83.3%) passed their stones compared with 25 of the 41 (61%) volunteers with large stones who were given placebo. Those would have been good numerical reference points to include in the release.

Does the news release adequately explain/quantify the harms of the intervention?

Not Satisfactory

There are no mentions of potential harms from the use of tamsulosin mentioned in the news release, although a simple web search reveals a host of minor side effects — drowsiness, dizziness, blurred vision, lightheadedness, fainting, back pain, cough, decreased sexual ability, diarrhea, headache, runny or stuffy nose, sinus inflammation, trouble sleeping, or weakness — and possible severe side effects including severe allergic reactions, chest pain or irregular heartbeat, fever or chills, or other conditions.

Does the news release seem to grasp the quality of the evidence?

Not Satisfactory

The release describes the trial only briefly, noting that it involved 400 and was conducted in five Australian hospital emergency departments.

It would have been helpful to note that the trial was randomized with roughly half of the patients getting the drug intervention and half getting placebo.

Does the news release compare the new approach with existing alternatives?

Not Satisfactory

While the study leader states that patients using this drug “might not need more complicated treatments including surgeries,” that doesn’t meet our criteria for comparing alternatives. Are there other drugs similar in function to tamsulosin that might also benefit patients?  Alpha blockers which relax the ureter muscles have helped some pass stones with less pain. Some patients with larger stones are treated with lithotripsy which employs sound waves that break stones into smaller pieces.

Does the news release establish the true novelty of the approach?

Not Satisfactory

The release claims that the researchers “discovered” that this drug has benefits which suggests to readers that this was the first and only study to look at the use of tamsulosin for kidney stones. Previous studies with similar findings have been published over the past few years.