Analysis of clinical manifestations, risk factors and diagnostic procedures in children with urolithiasis

The incidence of urolithiasis in the paediatric population has grown in recent years. Aim: The aim of this study was to analyse clinical symptoms, risk factors and diagnostic procedures in children with urolithiasis. Materials and methods: We conducted a questionnaire study (supplemented with an analysis of medical records) in a group of 49 children diagnosed with urolithiasis, including 17 patients from the department of paediatrics at the time of the first metabolic evaluation, and 32 patients hospitalised in a one-day department of paediatric urology prior to extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy. Results: Urolithiasis occurred in children in the study group at the age of 9.3 ± 4.9 years and manifested with abdominal pain (69.4%), vomiting (18.4%) and haematuria (10.2%); urolithiasis was diagnosed accidentally in 14.3% of patients. All patients developed renal stones (bilateral in 20.4%); 28.6% of patients additionally presented with ureteral stones, and 6.1% with bladder stones. Urolithiasis was accompanied by urinary tract infection in 44.9% of patients. The most common risk factors for urolithiasis included positive family history (75.5%), low fluid intake (51%), urinary tract infection (42.9%) and overweight/obesity (28.6%). Among patients admitted for extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy, only 65.6% of children underwent nephrological consultation. Slightly more than a half of these patients underwent metabolic diagnosis, with exhausted evaluation in 7 cases and incomplete metabolic assessment in 5 cases. The chemical composition of stones was analysed in 22.4% of patients. Conclusions: Abdominal pain and vomiting are the most common clinical symptoms in children with urolithiasis. The paper presents modifiable risk factors and shows the need for improvement in metabolic evaluation of urolithiasis.