Cholelithiasis in children: A characteristic study

Pediatric cholelithiasis (PC) is relatively rare when compared to adult cholelithiasis. This study is aimed to describe the clinical characteristics of pediatric cholelithiasis treated at Hasan Sadikin General Hospital (HSGH), Bandung, Indonesia.

This is a descriptive study of children aged 0-18 years who were diagnosed with and treated for cholelithiasis at the HSGH over 4-5 years. Variables collected during this study were sex, age, chief complaint, previous medical history, diagnostic test, definitive management, and clinical outcomes.

There were 12 cases of pediatric cholelithiasis during the study period, including those of 5 boys (41.7%) and 7 girls (58.3%). The mean and median age of the patients was 10.75 years and 12 years, respectively. The most prevalent complaint of the patients was abdominal pain (75%), followed by jaundice (16.6%) and abdominal distension (8.4%). Thalassemia was the most frequently associated disorder among the patients (25%). Ultrasonography was diagnostic imaging used on 66.6% of patients. Fifty-eight percent of patients have performed the surgery. The most frequently used surgical technique to manage the patients included laparoscopic cholecystectomy (33.3%), followed by laparotomic cholecystectomy (16.7%).

PC is an uncommon disorder, but easier to diagnose reasonably with the development of imaging study. Minimally invasive procedures using laparoscopic cholecystectomy were the most frequently performed surgical treatment in this study.