Journal of pediatric urology
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Review Meta Analysis
Medical expulsive therapy for pediatric urolithiasis: Systematic review and meta-analysis.
Kidney stone disease has become more common among children and young adults. Despite its well-documented success in adults, published success rates of medical expulsive therapy (MET) for pediatric urolithiasis vary widely. Our objective was to determine whether the aggregated evidence supports the use of MET in children. ⋯ Consistent with the adult literature, pediatric studies demonstrate that treatment with MET results in increased odds of spontaneous ureteral stone passage and a low rate of adverse events. Although the accumulated literature is limited by inconsistent and/or incomplete reporting, there is nonetheless a clear, cumulative positive effect of MET on stone passage among children. The available evidence thus supports a prominent role for MET in treatment algorithms for pediatric urolithiasis.