Pediatric KIDney Stone (PKIDS) Care Improvement Network

The rapid increase in the incidence of kidney stones among youth has resulted in a large population of patients who require surgery to removes stones but for whom little evidence exists to guide clinical care. Proper selection of surgical treatment options, which is directed by patient-specific factors and individual treatment goals, is the greatest determinant of successful outcomes.

This is a prospective cohort study. Investigators seek to compare stone clearance, re-treatment, and unplanned healthcare encounters for ureteroscopy, shockwave lithotripsy, and percutaneous nephrolithotomy.

Additionally, Investigators also seek to compare patients' experiences after ureteroscopy, shockwave lithotripsy, and percutaneous nephrolithotomy.

Setting/Participants:

This study will be conducted by the Pediatric KIDney Stone (PKIDS) Care Improvement Network, which includes 23 pediatric healthcare systems (25 sites) in the United States.

Patient participants include patients aged 8 to 21 years who undergo a surgical intervention for kidney stones as part of their clinical care. The surgical interventions include ureteroscopy, shockwave lithotripsy, and percutaneous nephrolithotomy, all of which would be performed as part of routine clinical care.

Study Interventions and Measures:

Stone clearance will be assessed with ultrasound (obtained as part of clinical care) 6 weeks after surgery, which is the standard of care at all PKIDS sites. Re-treatment and unplanned healthcare encounters will be assessed within the first 3 months after surgery. Patients' experiences will be measured through questionnaires administered pre-operatively and within 3 months after surgery.

Inclusion criteria

• Males or females, 8-21 years of age, undergoing planned URS, SWL, or PCNL for the removal of at least one kidney and/or ureteral stone.
• Parental/guardian or participant (if ≥ 18 years old) permission (informed consent), and if appropriate, child assent

2a. Individuals who are not able to provide consent/assent (whether ≥18 or < 18 years) and/or not willing or able to complete questionnaires are eligible for participation for the stone clearance assessment and Electronic Health Record (EHR) surveillance if the legal guardian consents for study participation.

2b. Individuals for whom native-language questionnaires are not available can also participate in stone clearance assessment and EHR surveillance.

Exclusion criteria

• Patients for whom conducting informed consent and baseline study procedures would confer additional risk (e.g. obstructing ureteral stone with fever requiring emergency surgery) and delay necessary immediate clinical care.
• Parent/guardians or patients, who, in the opinion of the Investigator, may be non-compliant with study schedules or procedures