Renal colic during pregnancy: Diagnostic and therapeutic aspects. Literature review

Renal colic during pregnancy is a rare urgency but is one of the most common non-obstetric reasons for hospital admission. The management often means a challenge for the urologist and gynecologist due to the complexity involved in preserving the maternal and fetal well-being.

We performed a literature search within the PubMed database. We found 65 related articles in English. We selected 36 for this review prioritizing publications in the last two decades.

The anatomical and functional changes of the genitourinary system during pregnancy are well documented; also during pregnancy, there are several metabolic pro-lithogenic factors. The most common clinical presentation is flank pain accompanied by micro or macro hematuria. US provides data identifying renal obstruction shown by an increased renal resistance index. MRI allows differentiating the physiological dilatation from the pathological caused by an obstructive stone showing peripheral renal edema and renal enlargement. Low dose CT has been determined to be a safe and highly accurate imaging technique. Once the diagnosis is confirmed, the initial management of patients should be conservative. When conservative management fails the interventional treatment is mandatory, a urinary diversion of the obstructed renal unit either by a JJ stent or through a PCN catheter has to be done. The definitive management of the stone can be done in the postpartum or deferred ureteroscopy can be considered during pregnancy.

Renal colic during pregnancy is an uncommon urgency, so it is important for the urologist to know the management of this condition.