CHOLELITHIASIS in childhood is unusual and reputedly associated with an underlying hemolytic disorder. Cholelithiasis is now being recognized with increasing frequency in children without hemolytic diseases.1-4 To evaluate our own experience, all patients with cholelithiasis seen at the Children's Hospital in Cincinnati between Jan 1, 1956, and Oct 1, 1968, were reviewed, and the clinical, roentgenographic, and pathologic features of these cases were compared with 129 cases1-7 reported in the recent literature.
Results
Thirteen patients with cholelithiasis were seen during this 129/12 year period—about one patient per 10,000 admissions. The age range was 3 to 17 years with a median of 9 years. The girls as a group and children without hemolysis tended to be younger at the time of diagnosis (Table 1). Girls accounted for 11 of the 13 cases and all of those without hemolysis. The two boys had underlying hemolysis.Etiologic factors are listed in Table 2.