Evaluation of the composition of urinary tract stones in children from the Inner Western Anatolian Region in Turkey.

Abstract

Pediatric urolithiasis is a globally growing problem. The composition and frequency of urinary tract stones vary not only among different countries, but across various regions in a country. Hence, we aimed to identify the types and frequencies of urinary tract stones in children from our region (Inner Western Anatolian part of Turkey), and to compare our findings with the results from other regions in our country. In this retrospective analysis of 53 pediatric urolithiasis cases that were treated in our hospital between 2009 and 2019, the demographic data, clinical course, radiological and metabolic findings, the recurrence rate, and the composition of the stones were evaluated. The mean age of the patients was 5.9±4.6 (0.5-18) years, and there were 30 (56.6%) girls and 23 (43.4%) boys. An analysis of the composition of the stones revealed that the majority (85%) consisted of calcium oxalate. The highest risk of recurrence and the need for multiple shockwave lithotripsy (SWL) sessions or surgical intervention appeared to be related with the presence of whewellite stones, which are the most challenging stones in childhood. According the study results, the urinary stone types vary across different regions in our country, and the frequency of uric acid stones decreased going westward, while the frequency of oxalate stones increased. We conclude that this difference in the frequency of the type of urinary stones might reflect the regional dietary habits. Regional frequency and etiology studies for the types of urolithiasis may facilitate the approach to the treatment of urolithiasis.