Clinical Outcomes of Nephrocalcinosis in Preschool-age Children: Association Between Nephrocalcinosis Improvement and Long-term Kidney Function

Background: We evaluated the long-term clinical outcomes of nephrocalcinosis (NC) according to etiology and grade in preschool-age children with NC.

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the clinical outcomes and disease grade of children with NC classified into three groups according to etiology: prematurity, tubular disorders, and others.

Results: Overall, 67 children were diagnosed with NC [median age, 0.76 years; interquartile range (IQR) 0.46-2.14 years]. The etiologies of NC included prematurity (28.4%), tubular disorders (25.4%), and others (46.3%). Moreover, 56 (83.6%) children were asymptomatic and diagnosed accidentally through kidney ultrasonography. Newly diagnosed underlying diseases were greater in the tubular disorders group than in the other two groups ( = 0.001). Significantly more newly diagnosed NCs were grade 3 than grade 1 ( = 0.003). The median estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) changed from 96.1 (IQR 68.8-119.2) ml/min/1.72 m at diagnosis to 90.9 (IQR 76.4-106.4) ml/min/1.72 m at the last follow-up, without a significant difference ( = 0.096). Changes in the kidney function did not differ according to etiology. However, patients without improvement in NC grade showed a decrease in eGFR from 98.1 (IQR 71.1-132.9) to 87.4 (IQR 74.0-104.1) ml/min/1.73 m (= 0.023), while patients with improved NC grade did not show any change in the kidney function.

Conclusions: Early recognition, especially in NC grade 3, can help uncover further diagnoses, such as tubular disorders. Long-term kidney function depends on whether the NC grade improves.