Pediatric Urolithiasis in Children: Diagnosis and Management

Introduction: Pediatric urolithiasis remains endemic in low-resource countries affecting children <1 to 15 years. This study aimed to investigate the diagnosis and the treatment options of pediatric urolithiasis and compare that with the literature. Materials and methods: This study retrospectively evaluated patients who had been diagnosed with urolithiasis in the in department of pediatric emergency and reanimation and the department of pediatric surgery in Hedi Chaker hospital in Sfax between 2001 and 2016. Results: Over 16 years period, we diagnosed and managed 78 children with urolithiasis. 44 were male (56%) and 34 were female (44%). The median age was 54 months (4 to 144 months). Family history of urolithiasis was found in 23 patients (29.5%). The diagnosis of urolithiasis was made after Urinary tract infection in 23 (29.5%), abdominal pain in 16 (20.5%), Hematuria in 9 (11.5%), nephritic colic in 8 (10.5%), dysuria in 11(14%) and after antenatal diagnosis of malformative uropathies in 11 (14%) patients. The treatment were surgery in 32, medical in 30, LEC and endoscopy in 8 patients. The mean of follow up was 36 months and we had 11 recurrent urolithiasis. Conclusion: Pediatric urolithiasis remains a devastating health problem. Their management requires more exploration especially in the etiology research for a best management.