Metabolic stone disease

Nevertheless, urolithiasis is much less common in children when compared to adults. In western countries, only about 2–5% of urinary stone patients are children [4–8]. This may be the reason that many recommendations for diagnosing and treating urolithiasis are derived from adults. In some parts of the world, however, e.g., South Asia, Pakistan and Turkey the numbers are considerably higher [9]. Not only in these regions, but also in countries with a low prevalence of stone disease in children, pediatric urolithiasis is of special interest. There are several features being different from adult stone disease. Concerning pathophysiology, genetic disorders like cystinuria and primary hyperoxaluria and anomalies of the urinary tract play an important role. Although urinary tract infections as a cause of pediatric stones were much more common in former times [8], infected stones are still more common in children when compared with adults. The presentation of stones is also somewhat different in children. Due to the pathophysiology of the ureter, in children small calculi may pass unnoticed – a condition being rare in adults. ___________________________________________