Introduction:

Gallbladder lithiasis in childhood is not frequent, but the diagnosis frequency has been increasing, some of the reasons for this include a higher index of suspicion on the physician’s part, identification of risk factors for the condition, higher survival rates of children with diseases that predispose to gallstones.

Objective:

To describe the prevalence, clinical characteristics and postoperative course of gallbladder lithiasis in patients from 0 to 18 years of age in a pediatric hospital.

Materials and Methods:

This was a retrospective, cross-sectional, descriptive study. Patients aged 0 to 18 years with a diagnosis of gallbladder lithiasis, who presented to the Acosta Ñu Children's Hospital, during 2015-2020 were included. Variables studied: age, sex, place of residence, risk factors, evolution time, BMI, hospitalization stay, symptoms, diagnostic method, treatment and complications. Data were analyzed in SPSS using descriptive statistics. The protocol was approved by the hospital ethics committee.

Results:

81 patients were included, with an average age of 12.4 ± 4 years. 61.7% were female. 52% of females had risk factors, as well as 70.9% of males (p=0.14). 87.6% presented abdominal pain. Abdominal ultrasound was the most frequent diagnostic method used. The most frequent treatment was laparoscopic surgery, in 95.1%. The average hospitalization duration of the patients was 4 ± 13 days and the average postoperative period was 1 ± 1.3 days.

Conclusions:

The prevalence of gallbladder lithiasis in the pediatric population was 0.6%, with a predominance of females. Most of the patients had some risk factor, obesity being the most predominant. The diagnosis was made by abdominal ultrasound. The most frequent treatment was laparoscopic surgery, with good results obtained.

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