One-year follow-up of patients with melamine-induced urolithiasis in Southwest China

Abstract

In 2008, more than 290,000 children suffered from urinary tract stones with a history of consuming melamine-contaminated powdered formula in China. Little was known about the long-term follow-up of outcomes of these patients in southwest China, so we conducted one-year follow-up investigation for further study. Thirty-six of 51 inpatients with melamine-induced urolithiasis were enrolled in this study. After 12 months follow-up, none of the children had vomiting, oliguria, gross hematuria, or fever. Twenty-seven patients were stone free, stones decreased in size in six patients and increased in three. Serum total protein, albumin, and pre-albumin increased significantly from baseline to 12 months, and renal function remained normal. Melamine-induced urolithiasis could not lead renal dysfunction at 12 months follow-up. The results of our study indicated that more attention should be paid to the prevention of protein malnutrition in children with a history of consuming melamine-contaminated food products.

Keywords:

• melamine
• urolithiasis
• follow up
• children

Acknowledgements

We thank the children and their parents or guardians for attending this follow-up study. We also thank all the staff of Department of Pediatrics, Ultrasound, and Laboratory for their efforts. This work was partly supported by grants from the Hong Kong SAR government (Research fund for studies related to melamine incident MI-FU-08).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Qingkai Dai

The first two authors contributed equally to this article.

Yongmei Jiang

The first two authors contributed equally to this article.