Children with a history of consuming melamine-contaminated milk powder are at an increased risk of developing kidney stones and other urological complications.
Researchers presenting two studies at the 104th Annual Scientific Meeting of the American Urological Association (AUA) found that melamine calculus occurred mostly in infants at six months to 18 months after consuming melamine-contaminated milk powder after birth but that the stones could be effectively managed with noninvasive treatment.
In the first study, researchers analyzed the clinical data of 50 young children with double kidney stones who had a history of consuming melamine-contaminated milk powder. Researchers studied ultrasound images from each child, measuring kidney stone size, number, shape and location. Eighty-five percent of these cases occurred in children ages six to 18 months. Of these 50 children, 42 formed kidney stones in both kidneys; multiple stones were found in 18 children; and single stones were found in nine of them. Eleven children experienced kidney failure, in which the stone diameters of bilateral kidneys were significantly larger than those who did not experience kidney failure. In 21 cases, the stone was passed after non-operative hospital treatment in an average of eight days.