Urinary stone in infants; should vitamin D prophylaxis be stopped?

This study investigated the effect of the discontinuation of vitamin D supplementation on kidney stone formation in children under 2 years of age.

This study involved a retrospective analysis of two patient groups. The first group comprised postoperative patients who were stone-free, while the second group consisted of asymptomatic patients with kidney stones. The patients who discontinued vitamin D supplementation and those who continued were compared in terms of stone formation and stone size progression. The data collected included patient characteristics, stone size measurements, and laboratory results.

The findings showed that the discontinuation of vitamin D supplementation was not associated with kidney stone formation or the progression of stone size in either group. For patients who were stone-free on ultrasonography 1 month after the operation, according to the 12-month ultrasonography evaluation, in the group that discontinued vitamin D, 42 (78%) patients had no stones, 6 (11%) patients had stones larger than 3 mm, and 6 (11%) patients had microlithiasis. However, in the group that continued vitamin D, 49 (72%) patients were stone-free, 10 (15%) patients had stones larger than 3 mm, and 9 (13%) patients had microlithiasis. There was no difference between the groups in terms of stone status at 12 months (p = 0.76). For patients with asymptomatic kidney stones, the initial stone sizes were similar between the groups (p = 0.74). During the 6th month of ultrasound, the changes in stone size were 1.76 ± 1.81 mm and 1.79 ± 1.75 mm for the two groups, respectively (p = 0.9). During the 12-month ultrasound measurement, the changes in stone size were 1.98 ± 2.93 mm and 2.60 ± 2.48 mm for the two groups, respectively (p = 0.09).

We believe that more research is needed to make definitive recommendations regarding vitamin D prophylaxis in infants with kidney stones. Although the first objective of our study is not conclusively proven with the current findings, we recommend continued vitamin D prophylaxis in infants with urolithiasis.