OXALATE NEPHROCALCINOSIS - A STUDY IN AUTOPSIED INFANTS AND NEONATES

A review of renal histology from 44 neonatal and pediatric autopsies, all with documented intensive hospital courses, identified 8 cases sho wing varying degrees of microscopic calcium deposition. Histochemical and x-ray spectroscopic microanalysis showed that all eight cases cont ained intratubular deposits of calcium oxalate, and two cases containe d both oxalate and phosphate microliths. The spatial arrangement of th e deposits appeared to vary with the density of deposition. A control group of 68 non-intensively treated cases (stillbirths and sudden infa nt death syndrome cases) showed rare calcium phosphate microliths but none had oxalate crystals. Infantile nephro-calcinosis is little under stood and is poorly documented in the current literature. This study m ay contribute to the understanding of this entity and may be useful in guiding stratagems to prevent its occurrence.