Diagnosis of Urolithiasis and Rate of Spontaneous Passage during Pregnancy: Burgess K, Gettman M, Rangel L, Krambeck A. J Urol 2011;186:2280–4.

Abstract

Computed tomography (CT) in pregnancy is avoided whenever possible to limit fetal radiation exposure. For this reason, ultrasound is often the initial imaging modality utilized to evaluate for urolithiasis in pregnancy. However, the sensitivity of ultrasound for detecting urolithiasis in pregnancy is highly variable, ranging from 28.5% to 95.2%. As such, the accurate diagnosis of urolithiasis during pregnancy is difficult. This study retrospectively reviewed the records of patients diagnosed with urolithiasis in pregnancy during a 12-year period (1997–2009) for confirmed stone event as well as spontaneous passage, to determine if the commonly held convention that most stones (as high as 81%) diagnosed during pregnancy will pass with conservative management.