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Evaluation of Pediatric Cases With Cholelithiasis: 5-Year Single-Center Experience
Hilal Koyuncu1, Ayşe Tolunay Oflu1, Ayşe Güngör1
1Department of Child Health and Diseases, Afyonkarahisar University of Health Sciences Faculty of Medicine, Afyonkarahisar, Turkey.
Insights
Pediatric gallstones increase with age, often linked to obesity in adolescents. Abdominal pain is a common symptom, but incidental findings also occur. Clinicians should be cautious with medications in obese children.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Gastroenterology
- Hepatology
- Public Health
Background:
- Gallstones (cholelithiasis) in children are increasingly recognized, presenting unique diagnostic and management challenges compared to adults.
- Understanding the demographic and clinical profiles of pediatric gallstone patients is crucial for early detection and prevention strategies.
- Obesity is a known risk factor for gallstones, and its rising prevalence in pediatric populations warrants specific investigation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the demographic characteristics of pediatric patients diagnosed with gallstones.
- To identify the common clinical presentations and underlying causes of gallstones in children.
- To explore the relationship between age, obesity, and gallstone formation in the pediatric population.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective analysis of pediatric patients diagnosed with gallstones between 2017 and 2023 at a tertiary hospital.
- Data collection included patient demographics, clinical complaints, diagnostic findings, identified causes, and complications.
- Statistical analysis was performed to determine the frequency, characteristics, and associations of pediatric gallstones.
Main Results:
- A total of 65 pediatric patients were included, with a mean age of 10.8 years; 67.7% were adolescents.
- Abdominal pain was the most frequent symptom (60%), while 33.8% were incidental findings.
- Obesity was the leading identified cause (26.2%), significantly more prevalent in adolescents, and gallstone incidence increased with age.
Conclusions:
- Gallstone prevalence in children rises with age, strongly associated with obesity, particularly in adolescents.
- Symptomatic gallstones occurred in 69.2% of cases, with 15.3% experiencing complications.
- Healthcare providers should consider obesity as a key factor in pediatric gallstones and exercise caution with potentially lithogenic medications in obese adolescents.
Abstract:
Gallstones are sometimes detected as a cause of a clinical finding in children and sometimes incidentally. This study aimed to investigate the demographic and clinical characteristics of pediatric patients with gallstones. Pediatric cases diagnosed with gallstones between 2017 and 2023 in a tertiary hospital were retrospectively examined. A total of 65 patients were included in the study. The mean age of the cases was 10.8 ± 5.3 years, and 44 (67.7%) were adolescents. The most common complaint of the cases was abdominal pain (60%), and 33.8% were diagnosed incidentally. Obesity was the most frequently identified cause (26.2%) and was significantly higher in adolescents. Forty-five (69.2%) cases were symptomatic, and 10 (15.3%) were complicated. This study found that the frequency of gallstones in children increases with age, and that the underlying cause is likely to be obesity as age increases. Clinicians should avoid medications that may cause gallstones in obese adolescents.
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