Increasing incidence of kidney stones in children evaluated in the emergency department.

Objective: To test the hypothesis that there is an increase in the incidence of childhood nephrolithiasis in the state of South Carolina.

Study Design: We analyzed demographic data from a statewide database on incidence of kidney stones from emergency department data and financial charges. Data were compared with population data from the US Census to control for population growth.

Results: There was a significant increase in the incidence of kidney stones in children between 1996 and 2007. The greatest rate of increase was seen in adolescents, pre-adolescents, and Caucasian children. Infants, toddlers, and African-American children did not show significantly increased incidence in the period. Girls show a growing predominance in our population. The amount of money charged for care of children with kidney stones has gone up >4-fold in our state.

Conclusion: The incidence of kidney stone disease has risen dramatically in the state of South Carolina since 1996. Further studies investigating potential contributing factors are needed to prevent this costly and painful condition.