Nephrolithiasis In Children

By Robert R. Wal - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kidney_stone, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3101185

Kidney/urinary stone disease is a serious disorder, and this paper discusses dietary interventions to avoid this disease in children.  As the abstract below makes clear, there hasn’t been any real positive findings apart from some limited data in favor of oral potassium citrate supplementation.  I have had kidney stones myself; that was one of the most painful experiences of my life.  Upon advice from an urologist, my own major preventive technique is drinking a lot of water during the day (up to 2 liters per day or more).  That’s inconvenient of course – what goes in must come out – and requires many bathroom visits per day.  A problem with children is that they go to school and can’t be spending much time in the bathroom, and keep in mind that drinking too much water can be a problem, and children, with smaller bodies than adults, have to be more careful with that.  The bottom line: follow your doctor’s advice on this subject, for both adults and children. Speaking only for myself as an adult, drinking water has helped, and I also eat a healthy diet as well.  Abstract:

BACKGROUND:

Nephrolithiasis, or urinary stone disease, in children causes significant morbidity, and is increasing in prevalence in the North American population. Therefore, medical and dietary interventions (MDI) for recurrent urinary stones in children are poised to gain increasing importance in the clinical armamentarium.

OBJECTIVES:

To assess the effects of medical and dietary interventions (MDI) for the prevention of idiopathic urinary stones in children aged from one to 18 years.

SEARCH METHODS:

We searched multiple databases using search terms relevant to this review, including studies identified from the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL, 2017, Issue 1), MEDLINE OvidSP (1946 to 14 February 2017), Embase OvidSP (1980 to 14 February 2017), International Clinical Trials Register (ICTRP) Search Portal and ClinicalTrials.gov. Additionally, we handsearched renal-related journals and the proceedings of major renal conferences, and reviewed weekly current awareness alerts for selected renal journals. The date of the last search was 14 February 2017. There were no language restrictions.

SELECTION CRITERIA:

Randomized controlled trials of at least one year of MDI versus control for prevention of recurrent idiopathic (non-syndromic) nephrolithiasis in children.

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS:

We used standard methodologic procedures expected by Cochrane. Titles and abstracts were identified by search criteria and then screened for relevance, and then data extraction and risk of bias assessment were carried out. We assessed the quality of evidence using GRADE.

MAIN RESULTS:

The search identified one study of 125 children (72 boys and 53 girls) with calcium-containing idiopathic nephrolithiasis and normal renal morphology following initial treatment with shockwave lithotripsy (SWL). Patients were randomized to oral potassium citrate 1 mEq/kg per day for 12 months versus no specific medication or preventive measure with results reported for a total of 96 patients (48 per group). This included children who were stone-free (n = 52) or had residual stone fragments (n = 44) following SWL. Primary outcomes:Medical therapy may lower rates of stone recurrence with a risk ratio (RR) of 0.19 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.06 to 0.60; low quality evidence). This corresponds to 270 fewer stone recurrences per 1000 (133 fewer to 313 fewer) children. We downgraded the quality of evidence by two levels for very serious study limitations related to unclear allocation concealment (selection bias) and a high risk of performance, detection and attrition bias. While the data for adverse events were incomplete, they reported that six of 48 (12.5%) children receiving potassium citrate left the trial because of adverse effects. This corresponds to a RR of 13.0 (95% CI 0.75 to 224.53; very low quality evidence); an absolute effect size estimate could not be generated. We downgraded the quality of evidence for study limitations and imprecision.We found no information on retreatment rates.

SECONDARY OUTCOMES:

We found no evidence on serum electrolytes, 24-hour urine collection parameters or time to new stone formation.We were unable to perform any preplanned secondary analyses.

AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS:

Oral potassium citrate supplementation may reduce recurrent calcium urinary stone formation in children following SWL; however, our confidence in this finding is limited. A substantial number of children stopped the medication due to adverse events. There is no trial evidence on retreatment rates. There is a critical need for additional well-designed trials in children with nephrolithiasis.