title: Gallstone composition: are children different?
abstract: During a 5-year period (1997-2002) 20 consecutive children (11 boys; median age, 8 years; range, 0.3-13.9 years) underwent cholecystectomy for cholelithiasis at a regional pediatric surgical center. Multiple stones were present in 16 patients (80%). All stones were collected prospectively. Composition studies were performed after grinding an aliquot of stone and examining a layer of crushed powder by Fourier transform infrared microspectroscopy. The relative proportions of each major stone component were assessed: cholesterol, protein and calcium salts of bilirubin, fatty acids, carbonate, and hydroxyapatite. Of the 20 children, 10 had black pigment stones, 2 had cholesterol stones, 1 had brown pigment stones, and 7 had calcium carbonate stones; the latter are exceptionally rare in adults. The composition of pediatric gallstones in this series differs from that found in adults.
authors.affiliation: Children's Liver and GI Unit, St James's University Hospital, Leeds, United Kingdom. mdstringer@dial.pipex.com
authors.forename: Mark D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Stringer
authors.forename: Donald R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Taylor
authors.forename: Roger D
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Soloway
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002763:Cholecystectomy; D002769:Cholelithiasis / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000601:surgery*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D017550:Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared