Is Triple D Score Effective to Predict the Stone-Free Rate After Shockwave Lithotripsy in Pediatric Population?

Triple D score was developed using skin-to-stone distance (SSD), stone density (SD), and stone volume (SV) for prediction of extracorporeal shockwave lithotripsy (SWL) outcomes in adults. SWL is the first-line treatment method for kidney stones <2 cm in children, however, it was not validated in the pediatric population. This article aims to validate Triple D score in pediatric patients. Of the 269 children treated with SWL between 2007 and 2021, a total of 147 children who had adequate follow-up data and evaluated with noncontrast CT before SWL were included in the study. Parameters were calculated for each of the SV, SSD, and SD variables. Receiver operator characteristic analysis was used to set cutoff values. Triple D scores were calculated, and success rates were determined for each score. Stone-free status was determined as complete clearance after 3 months of final SWL. The median age of the study group was 7 years (range 1-16). Ninety-three of the 147 (63%) children had stone-free status. Mean SV, SSD, and SD values were significantly higher in the SWL-failed group than in the stone-free group after detecting cutoff values of 155 mm³, 6.5 cm, and 550 HU, respectively. Stone-free rates were detected as 23.8%, 35.1%, 74.0%, and 92.0% with the Triple D scores of 0, 1, 2, and 3 points. Our study confirms that Triple D scores support the SWL outcomes in the pediatric population. We believe that our research on Triple D score validation in children is of great clinical importance although various factors may affect to predict the success of SWL. IRB Approval: 2021/514/194/14.