Trends and Demographic Risk Factors in Pediatric Kidney Stone Operations

Introduction: Pediatric kidney stone incidence has risen over the years, but recent analyses of trends and surgical demographics are lacking. This study examined the trends and demographic risk factors pertaining to pediatric patients undergoing kidney stone operation. Methods: The Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP) dataset for the state of Florida, which includes all emergency department visits, inpatient admissions, and ambulatory surgeries and services, was utilized. We extracted data for patients 17 years or younger with urolithiasis who underwent urologic stone operations between 2016 and 2020. The proportion of pediatric patients undergoing urologic stone operations was measured based on demographic characteristics and the operation year. Results: There were 888 pediatric patients who underwent urologic stone operations between the years 2016 and 2020. No significant change was found across the years in the proportions of patients by sex or race/ethnicity. Across the different age groups, the proportion of males undergoing urologic operations decreased from 71.1% in the 0–1 age group to 36% in the 16–17 age group, while the proportion of females with urologic operations increased from 28.9% in the 0–1 age group to 64.0% in the 16–17 age group (<0.001). There was a significant difference across the different age groups in the proportion of patients undergoing operation by race (0.035). Ureteroscopy was the most utilized operation for urolithiasis in pediatric patients across all age groups. Discussion: Significant differences in the distribution of race and gender are observed among patients undergoing kidney stone operations across different age groups. However, when examining trends over the study period, there were no significant changes in the overall demographic composition of patients undergoing these surgeries.