Underuse of 24-hour urine collection among children with incident urinary stones: A quality-of-care concern? - Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence of 24-hour urine collection among first-time pediatric stone formers and investigate factors associated with its use.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: Using data from the MarketScan Commercial Claims and Encounters Database (2002-2006), children presenting to the emergency department with an incident episode of upper urinary tract stone disease were identified through a diagnosis code-based algorithm. The number of patients performing a 24-hour urine collection within 6 months of this encounter was calculated. Temporal trends in the prevalence of use were assessed. We fitted multivariate logistic regression models to examine factors associated with testing.

RESULTS: In total, 1848 children presented with an incident upper tract stone, of which 12.0% submitted a 24-hour urine collection. This percentage remained stable over the study period. Testing was more common among younger patients (P < .001) and those who visited urologists (P < .001) or nephrologists (P < .001). The odds of testing were nearly 4-fold or 7-fold higher if the patient saw a urologist (odds ratio, 3.99; 95% confidence interval, 2.83-5.62) or a nephrologist (odds ratio, 7.00; 95% confidence interval, 3.95-12.41), respectively.

CONCLUSION: Despite rates of stone recurrence, 24-hour urine collection appears to be underused among children. Efforts to increase its use are therefore likely to benefit pediatric patients with urinary stone disease.

Written by:
Ellison JS, Kaufman SR, Kraft KH, Wolf JS Jr, Hollenbeck BK, Hollingsworth JM.   Are you the author?
Division of Endourology, Department of Urology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, Michigan; Division of Pediatric Urology, Department of Urology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, Michigan.  

Reference: Urology. 2014 Jun 20. pii: S0090-4295(14)00449-X.
doi: 10.1016/j.urology.2014.04.035


PubMed Abstract
PMID: 24958480

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