Pediatric urolithiasis, vesicoureteral reflux evaluation under close scrutiny

Key Points

Stone disease and minimally invasive treatment approaches are once again leading issues in the pediatric urology section of the 2012 AUA annual meeting.

In addition, evaluation and management of vesicoureteral reflux (VUR) continues to be a hot topic in pediatric urology, and the AUA program also shows growing interest in the field of pediatric andrology.

"As the need to deal with pediatric stone disease has increased, it's become quite evident that there is a lack of standardization in management approaches. One paper presented at the 2011 AUA annual meeting highlighted tremendous heterogeneity in the care of children with stone disease and showed there were variations geographically as well as based on physicians' familiarity with different treatment techniques," he said.

"Urologists can expect to see more research in this area and, hopefully, the development of badly needed evidence-based guidelines for care that will optimize patient outcomes and the appropriate and efficient expenditure of health care dollars."