Renal Colic during Pregnancy: Review of 21 cases

Objective: To determine the problems related to renal colic due to urinary stones during pregnancy, and the principles of management of those patients in our hospitals. Material and Methods: It is a retrospective analysis of a series of 21 cases of renal colic due to urinary stones during pregnancy from March 2008 to April 2010 at Prince Rashid Ben Al-Hassan Military Hospital, Jordan. Presenting symptoms, diagnostic studies and management of renal stone were evaluated. Results: There were 15,824 deliveries during this period in our study. 21 of them had renal colic due to urinary stones during pregnancy, with an overall incidence in this series of 0.13%. Most of them were in the third trimester of pregnancy followed by the second trimester and the least were in the first trimester. The most common complaints were flank pain (95.2 %), urinary symptoms (hematuria, dysuria and urgency) in 80.9%, nausea and vomiting in 14.3% and fever in 28.6 %. Spontaneous passing of stones was noted in 19 cases (90.5%) with conservative treatment. Two patients were unresponsive or relapsing after medical treatment and were treated surgically in the urological department by double J stents insertion, but no maternal or fetal loss was noted. Conclusion: The majority of cases of renal colic due to urinary stones during pregnancy can be safely managed conservatively. The commonest presenting symptoms in our study were flank pain, urinary symptoms (hematuria, dysuria and urgency), and early surgical intervention resulted in safe maternal and fetal outcome.