Urolithiasis in pediatric patients. Clinical, diagnostic, and treatment characteristics

Abstract

Renal lithiasis in children continues to increase, with a high recurrence if early diagnosis and treatment of the causes that originate it are not performed. The characteristics considered of interest in pediatric patients with a confirmed diagnosis of urolithiasis from a Pediatric Nephrology reference center are described. A retrospective observational study in which 237/1940 (12.22%) patients, primarily schoolchildren and adolescents, presented renal lithiasis. No difference was found in terms of sex, and low back pain was the most frequent symptom, along with macro and microhematuria. Renal ultrasound was performed on all patients and guided the diagnosis, which was later confirmed by tomography. The most frequent etiology of urolithiasis in the population studied was metabolic disorders. All received nutritional support and, more than half, specific pharma-cological treatment according to the metabolic abnormality detected. Regarding stone removal, very few patients were able to access extracorporeal lithotripsy (a treatment that is exclusively private in our country and is expensive for patients in public hospitals), and a few others were able to undergo surgery. All of them had preserved renal function.