Pediatric Urinary Stone Disease: A 10-Year Single-Center Experience from Türkiye

Objective: Urinary stone disease (USD) is characterized by stone formation in the urinary system with an approximate prevalence of 5%-10% in children. In thisr study, the authors investigated the metabolic abnormalities that play a role in stone formation in pediatric patients with USD admitted to the authors' pediatric nephrology clinic during the last 10 years, the demographic characteristics of the patients, and the presenting symptoms. Materials and Methods: A total of 325 pediatric patients, 166 boys (51.1%) and 159 girls (48.9%), who presented to the Pediatric Nephrology outpatient clinic of the authors' center with a prediagnosis of USD were retrospectively analyzed. Results: Of 325 patients, 159 (48.9%) were female and 166 (51.1%) were male. The median age at diagnosis was 29 (0-229) months. 188 (57.9%) of the patients had a positive family history of USD and 22 (6.8%) had parental consanguinity. Hypocitraturia was found in 26.2% and hypercalciuria in 17.5% of patients. Stones were detected in 198 patients (60.9%) in the initial ultrasonography (USG) evaluation. Stones were most commonly located in the renal pelvis (75.8%) followed by the ureter (10.1%) and both renal pelvis and ureter (3%). About 40.4% of the stones were located in the left side, bilaterally in 37.8%, and 21.2% in the right side. Conclusion: Urinary stone disease is common in children. Unlike adult patients, patients with a positive family history of USD and parental consanguinity necessitate further metabolic evaluation and should be investigated for underlying urinary tract infection. Identifying stone disease early in childhood can help us detect urinary tract and metabolic abnormalities earlier.