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Retrocaval ureter: a meta-analysis of prevalence

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Abstract

Introduction

Retrocaval ureter is a congenital abnormality of the right ureter, which has been shown, in rare cases to cause clinical symptoms, mainly due to the development of ureterohydronephrosis.

Purpose

The purpose of this article is to identify the prevalence of the retrocaval ureter, and to emphasize its clinical and surgical importance.

Design

A meta-analysis of prevalence, on cases obtained from PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus databases.

Results

A total number of 13 studies contained data that allowed us to estimate the prevalence of the retrocaval ureter, which was identified overall in 9 cases, out of 18,493 subjects. The overall prevalence of retrocaval ureter was 0.13%, with a 95% confidence interval between 0.06 and 0.27%. There was no publication bias, all studies being under the funnel.

Conclusions

The overall prevalence of retrocaval ureter is 0.13%. Even if this is obviously a rare condition, its presence must be suspected by practitioners, especially in the presence of urological symptoms without a clear cause.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Dental Medicine, Department of Legal Medicine and Bioethics, Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Sos.Vitan Barzesti 9, 042122 Sector 4, Bucharest, Romania

    Sorin Hostiuc

  2. Faculty of Dental Medicine, Department of Anatomy, Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Bucharest, Romania

    Mugurel Constantin Rusu

  3. Faculty of Medicine, Department of Surgery, Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Bucharest, Romania

    Ionut Negoi

  4. Faculty of Medicine, Department of Surgery, University Emergency Hospital Bucharest, “Carol Davila” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Bucharest, Romania

    Mihai Grigoriu

  5. Faculty of Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine and Gastroenterology, Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Bucharest, Romania

    Mihaela Hostiuc

Authors
  1. Sorin Hostiuc
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  2. Mugurel Constantin Rusu
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  3. Ionut Negoi
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  4. Mihai Grigoriu
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  5. Mihaela Hostiuc
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Contributions

All authors participated equally in the design of the study, drafting the manuscript, and researching relevant information, and agreeing with the final version. The statistical analysis was conducted by SH and IN.

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Correspondence to Sorin Hostiuc.

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Hostiuc, S., Rusu, M.C., Negoi, I. et al. Retrocaval ureter: a meta-analysis of prevalence. Surg Radiol Anat 41, 1377–1382 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00276-019-02269-w

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00276-019-02269-w

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