although extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy(ESWL) has beenused to treat renal stones for several years, little is known of its effect on developing tissue. To study the long-term bio-effects of this mode of treatment on the immature animal, we
used
32 Sprague-Dawley rats at 4weeks of age and ivided 4 groups which consisted of 8 rats respectively. They were weighted and left nephrectomy was then performed. 10 dyas later, 3 gruops received extracorporeal shock waves (16 KV) of 500, 1,000,
1,500
times respectively to the right kidney using Lithoring(3rd generation pendulum-ESWL), but control group didn't received shock waves They were allowed to mature, and at 16 weeks of age they were evaluated for weight and serum creatinine. The right
kidney
was then harvested, weighted and stained with hematoxylin and eosin.
There were no significant changes in over-all animal growth, renal growth and renal fuction in the post-teratment gruops when compared to the control group. At comparision of histologiccal changes, the grade of interstitial nephritis was
proportional to
the number of shock waves received.
In conclusion, shock waves delivered to immature animals do not significantly affect animal growth, reanl growth and function, but it can cause significant permanent histological renal changes even at low dises and further studies are needed with
an
adult control group in an attempt to delineate whether the immature kidney is, indeed, more vulnerable to the shock waves.
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