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World J Meta-Anal. Feb 28, 2021; 9(1): 54-63
Published online Feb 28, 2021. doi: 10.13105/wjma.v9.i1.54
Risk factors, manifestations, diagnosis and treatment of cholelithiasis in children
Zheng-Rong Xu, Han-Lei Dan, Fan Yu
Zheng-Rong Xu, Han-Lei Dan, Fan Yu, Department of Surgery, Hospital of PLA Unit 63820, Mianyang 621000, Sichuan Province, China
Author contributions: Xu ZR collected and analyzed literature and wrote the paper; Dan HL contributed literature analysis and arrangement; Yu F designed the research study; and all authors have read and approve the final manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All authors have no conflict of interest, financial or otherwise.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Fan Yu, MM, Chief Physician, Surgeon, Department of Surgery, Hospital of PLA Unit 63820, West Section of Jianmen Road, Fucheng District, Mianyang 621000, Sichuan Province, China. l_fish@126.com
Received: January 19, 2021
Peer-review started: January 19, 2021
First decision: February 14, 2021
Revised: February 18, 2021
Accepted: February 22, 2021
Article in press: February 22, 2021
Published online: February 28, 2021
Processing time: 42 Days and 3.1 Hours
Abstract

Cholelithiasis in children refers to cholelithiasis or choledocholithiasis in newborns, infants and adolescents, including a series of symptoms and complications related to stones. The incidence rate of cholelithiasis in children is far lower than that in adults. However, the detection rate of cholelithiasis in children has risen in recent years. The aetiology of cholelithiasis in children is complex, and the pathogenesis is still unclear. According to existing studies, cholelithiasis in children may be related to sex and hormones, obesity, drugs, haemolytic diseases, genetic factors, chemokines, abnormal biliary tract formation, ileal surgery, total parenteral nutrition and other factors. In addition, there is a large occurrence of idiopathic cholelithiasis in children with unknown aetiology. The clinical manifestations of cholelithiasis in children are not completely the same as those in adults, mainly due to the different ages and causes. At present, there is no consensus on the clinical treatment of cholelithiasis in children. Follow-up and observation, drug dissolution and surgical treatment are all treatment methods for children with cholelithiasis. This study reviewed the related literature reports of cholelithiasis in children and summarized the risk factors, clinical manifestations, diagnosis and treatment of cholelithiasis in children to improve the understanding, diagnosis, and treatment of cholelithiasis in children.

Keywords: Cholelithiasis; Children; Risk factors; Diagnosis; Treatment

Core Tip: The aetiology of cholelithiasis in children is complex, which may be related to sex and hormones, obesity, drugs, haemolytic diseases, genetic factors, chemokines, abnormal biliary tract formation, ileal surgery, total parenteral nutrition and other factors. The clinical manifestations of cholelithiasis in children are not completely the same as those in adults, mainly due to the different ages and causes. The treatment of cholelithiasis in children is individualized. Follow-up and observation, drug dissolution and surgical treatment are all treatment methods for children with cholelithiasis.