The management of urinary calculi in pregnancy

Curr Opin Urol. 2001 Jul;11(4):379-84. doi: 10.1097/00042307-200107000-00007.

Abstract

When a pregnant patient presents with a urinary calculus, the customary investigations and management must change in order to take into account the well-being of the developing fetus. Transabdominal or endovaginal ultrasound should be the initial imaging modality used in order to establish the diagnosis. A plain abdominal X-ray, limited intravenous pyelography, or retrograde pyelography is used secondarily if a definitive diagnosis is lacking. The treatment of first choice for urolithiasis in pregnancy is conservative, because 70-80% of stones will pass spontaneously. If conservative management fails, or in cases of sepsis, obstruction of a solitary kidney, or bilateral ureteric obstruction, then surgical intervention is indicated. Traditional surgical management consists of draining the obstructed collecting system with a ureteral stent or percutaneous nephrostomy tube with definitive treatment of the stone in the post-partum period. Ureteroscopic lithotripsy and stone extraction is another option that has been used safely and reliably with increasing frequency in many centers. Despite recent reports of using extracorporeal shock-wave lithotripsy, this treatment is still considered contraindicated in pregnancy.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Drainage / methods
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Nephrostomy, Percutaneous
  • Pregnancy
  • Pregnancy Complications / diagnosis
  • Pregnancy Complications / therapy*
  • Stents
  • Ureteroscopy
  • Urinary Calculi / diagnosis
  • Urinary Calculi / therapy*