Aim. To investigate the structure and temporal trends in hospitalizations for urinary system diseases among children in the Republic of Karakalpakstan during 2022–2024.
Materials and methods. A total of 1,308 pediatric hospitalizations were analysed across six diagnostic groups: congenital renal anomalies, glomerulonephritis, dysmetabolic nephropathy, nephrotic syndrome, pyelonephritis, and tubulointerstitial nephritis. Differences in the distribution of diagnostic categories over the study period were assessed using Pearson’s chi-square test.
Results. Over the three-year period, pyelonephritis was the most frequently recorded diagnosis (357 cases; 27.3%), followed by glomerulonephritis (326; 24.9%), nephrotic syndrome (240; 18.3%), and dysmetabolic nephropathy (199; 15.2%). Between 2022 and 2024, the proportion of hospitalizations attributable to glomerulonephritis decreased from 31.54% to 18.02%, while the proportion attributable to pyelonephritis decreased from 30.07% to 24.32%. Conversely, the proportions of congenital renal anomalies increased from 8.07% to 13.06%, nephrotic syndrome from 15.16% to 20.72%, and tubulointerstitial nephritis from 1.71% to 8.33%. The distribution of diagnostic categories differed significantly across the study years (χ²=62.815; p<0.001). The highest mean age was observed among children hospitalized with pyelonephritis (12.68±0.28 years), whereas the lowest was recorded among those with nephrotic syndrome (5.46±0.21 years).
Conclusion. The study identified significant temporal changes in the diagnostic structure of pediatric hospitalizations and age-related differences between diagnostic groups. These findings highlight the importance of considering the clinical diagnosis and the child's age when planning diagnostic services and long-term follow-up. The results characterize hospitalized patients and should not be interpreted as estimates of disease incidence or prevalence in the general pediatric population.