Objective
Pediatric urolithiasis is an important renal disease encountered in clinical practice. So, this study was designed to assess the safety and efficacy of shockwave lithotripsy (SWL) in the treatment of large pediatric renal stones.
Patients and methods
Eighty-four children with large renal stones (2–3 cm) were enrolled with a range of age between 1 and 16 years. Patients underwent SWL and were divided into two groups according to the presence of JJ stent (J shaped stent); 44 underwent SWL sessions without prior stenting and 40 patients underwent SWL after JJ sent insertion. Regular follow-up was done at 2, 6, and 12 weeks after the SWL session by urinalysis and renal bladder ultrasound.
Results
It was noticed that all baseline characteristics had no significant differences between both groups with exception of stone bilaterally that was significantly higher in the case stented group (35 vs. 4.5%; < 0.001). Patients with stent had higher frequency of lower urinary tract symptoms, longer duration of lower urinary tract symptoms, and hematuria.
Conclusion
SWL is a highly effective and safe modality for the treatment of children with large renal stones (2–3 cm) and could be used as an alternative to the more invasive stone therapy approaches.