title: Extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy of renal calculi during early pregnancy.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the safety of renal stone treatment by extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL) during pregnancy.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data from 824 women of reproductive age who were treated by ESWL were analysed and the patients surveyed using a questionnaire about pregnancies, to which 636 (76%) responded. Of these patients, six had inadvertently undergone ESWL for renal stones during the first month of pregnancy. The stones were detected and located during ESWL using ultrasonography.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The six patients gave birth to six children who had no detectable malformations or chromosomal anomalies.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Although these results suggest that there were no adverse effects of ESWL during early pregnancy, a larger series should be assessed to confirm the safety and long-term effects of ultrasound-guided ESWL in the treatment of renal calculi during pregnancy. We do not advocate lithotripsy as a treatment for renal calculi in pregnancy, but inadvertent lithotripsy in a pregnant woman is not a cause for concern.
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Shaheed Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Shaheed Modarress Hospital, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Asgari
authors.forename: M R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Safarinejad
authors.forename: S Y
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Hosseini
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Dadkhah
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007669:Kidney Calculi / Q000628:therapy*; D008096:Lithotripsy / Q000379:methods*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000628:therapy*; D011256:Pregnancy Outcome; D016896:Treatment Outcome