Urolithiasis in Childhood

Abstract
181 of 2,606 patients hospitalized for urolithiasis in 12 years were younger than 15 years (6.9 %). In accordance with the data given by other authors, we found the incidence of urolithiasis in children to be 1–5%, which, at least in Central Europe, corresponds approximately with that in adults. The causative factors or cofactors we established were malformation of the kidneys and urinary tract in 35.9%, and infections of the urinary tract in 80.7%. Defined metabolic disorders were found in only 5.5% of patients. Stone analysis showed a predominance of phosphate-containing calculi. Control examinations were done in 154 children over periods of 6 months to 11 years. ‘Recurrent lithiasis’ was seen in 32 patients, however, the exact comparison of pre- and postoperative X-ray films showed that in 17 cases the calculi had not been completely removed during surgery (11%). Consequently, a real recurrent lithiasis was present in 15 children only (9.9%). Since the West Berlin population includes a high percentage of Turkish people, we can conclude from our case material that even those Turkish children who were born in West Berlin suffer from urolithiasis 2–2.5 times as often as German children of the same age-groups.