Therapy of urolithiasis in childhood. Extracorporeal shock wave (ESWL) treatment and auxiliary measures

Introduction. Our objective was to determine the efficacy of ESWL treatment in children and the extent of auxiliary measures. In a retrospective analy sis we investigated number of auxiliary measures and the stone-free rate in children after ESWL treatment. Patients and methods. 26 girls and 20 boys with a total of 52 stones were t reated between January 1990 and January 1999. ESWL was carried out on eithe r the Lithostar Plus or the Modulith SL10/SLX. Auxiliary measures were subd ivided into curative (ureterorenoscopy, percutaneous nephrolithopaxy) and a djuvant (urethral stent, nephrostomy). Results. 34.8% of the children were stone-free after the first ESWL treatme nt. 43.5% of the children were discharged with residual stone particles rea dy for spontaneous passage. 21.7% underwent re-ESWL treatment. Auxiliary me asures were demanded in 28.3% of cases (adjuvant=19.6%, curative=8.7%). Conclusions. Extracorporeal shock wave is also a highly effective method of treatment for urolithiasis in children. Nevertheless, the demand for auxil iary measures still remains.