Re: Evaluation of renal function in children undergoing extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy. Editorial comment.

摘要

Despite the widespread acceptance of SWL for stone treatment in children, the potential long-term deleterious effects on the renal parenchyma remain incompletely defined. To address this issue, the authors present a well designed prospective study of 100 children who underwent treatment of renal stones with a modern lithotriptor. The importance of their investigation is amplified by animal studies revealing that the cavitation forces of SWL can cause direct tubular cell injury and microvascular damage, and possibly produce additional tissue injury by generation of free radicals. Furthermore, earlier studies have demonstrated acute perfusion defects by DMSA scan following SWL.