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1: NephrolithiasisMedical Management Common Ambulatory Topics
Andrea L. Banks, MD
April 1, 2008
3: Clinical Case HPI
A 34 year-old white man comes to your office complaining of severe left flank pain that began this morning. The pain comes and goes in waves. He also notes nausea and vomiting. He has not had any change in his urination. The pain has now resolved. He denies any fevers or chills.
PMHx
HTN
Medications
Atenolol
4: Clinical Case (cont.) SHx
Smoker
Exam
Afebrile, tachycardic
Well-appearing, in no obvious pain
Otherwise normal
5: Demographics Estimated 5% prevalence in general population
More prevalent in men
Risk factors
Family history
Gout
Primary hyperparathyroidism
Prolonged immobilization
RTA
Excess dietary meat
Excess dietary sodium
6: Stone Composition Calcium oxalate 70%
Calcium phosphate 5-10%
Uric acid 10%
Struvite 15-20%
Cystine 1%
7: Clinical Presentation Pain
Paroxysms of severe pain lasting 20-60 minutes
Originates in flank and radiates to groin
Location may vary as stone migrates
Hematuria
Gross or microscopic
Nausea/vomiting
Dysuria and urgency (less common)
8: Diagnosis Non-contrasted helical CT scan
Gold standard
Specificity nearly 100%
Also detects signs of urinary tract obstruction
Ultrasound
Misses small stones and ureteral stones
Test of choice in pregnancy
KUB
Misses radiolucent stones (uric acid)
IVP
9: KUB - Calcium Oxalate Stone
10: Non-constrast CT scan
11: Stone Size <5 mm
90% pass spontaneously
Alpha-blockers can increase chance of passage
>10 mm
<10% chance of spontaneous passage
12: Acute Treatment Increase fluid intake to goal of 2 L urine output per day
Pain control
NSAIDs, opioids
Hospitalization if severe
13: Returning to the Clinical Case Labs
CBC: normal
BMP: normal, calcium normal
U/A: few RBCs
Imaging
Non-constrast CT showed a 4mm non-obstructing calculus in the left ureter
14: Returning to the Clinical Case You send the patient home with PO pain medication and instructions to increase fluid intake. You tell him the stone should spontaneously pass.
He calls the office the next week reporting he is feeling well.
15: Work-up: the first episode Confirm the diagnosis
Radiographic evidence of stone
Comprehensive metabolic evaluation is not cost effective after first episode
Consider straining urine for stone
Composition analysis
Consider minimal labs
Urinalysis, routine electrolytes, calcium (iPTH if Ca is elevated)
16: Prevention: after the first episode Increase urine output to 2 L per day
Reduces urinary saturation of stone-forming salts
Water is most important; orange juice, coffee, and alcohol have been proven beneficial
Dietary modifications
Calcium
Should not restrict calcium as it binds oxalate in the gut
Decrease sodium intake
Enhances calcium reabsorption
Decrease meat intake
Protein intake decreases urinary pH and increases uric acid
17: Back to the case. . . Your patient returns one year later with complaints that he is passing another kidney stone.
Non-constrast CT confirms the diagnosis.
The acute episode resolves with conservative management.
He asks what can be done to prevent further episodes.
18: Work-up: recurrent episodes Relapse rate of 50% in first 5-10 years after first episode
Strain urine for stone retrieval
Composition analysis
Laboratory data
Calcium, bicarbonate, creatinine, chloride, potassium, magnesium, phosphate, uric acid, BUN
iPTH and vitamin D in hypercalcemic patients
19: Work-up: recurrent episodes 24-hour urine collections for:
Volume
pH
Calcium
Creatinine
Sodium
Phosphate
Citrate
Uric acid
Cystine
Oxalate
20: Calcium oxalate stones Hypercalciuria
Primary hyperparathyroidism
Intestinal hyperabsorption
Idiopathic
Treat with thiazide diuretics (increases Ca reabsorption in distal tubule)
Decrease sodium intake
Hypocitraturia (citrate inhibits calcium salt formation)
RTA
Idiopathic
Treat with potassium citrate
Hyperoxaluria
Enteric hyperabsorption
Decrease oxalate intake, increase calcium intake (binds enteric oxalate)
21: Uric acid stones Hyperuricosuria
Gout
Low urinary pH
Malignancy
Treatment
Allopurinol for hyperuricemia
Potassium citrate to raise urinary pH
22: Struvite stones Consist of magnesium, ammonium, and calcium phosphate
Not associated with metabolic abnormalities intrinsic to the patient
Recurrent UTI with urea-splitting organisms
Proteus
Ureaplasma
23: Staghorn Calculus
24: Cystine stones Autosomal recessive disorder leading to decreased cystine resorption in the kidney
Often first presents in childhood
Hydration, urine alkalinization, cystine binders
25: Back to the case. . . Stone analysis
Calcium oxalate
24-hour urine
Hypercalciuria
Treatment
Continue increased fluid intake
Add thiazide diuretic
Decrease sodium intake
26: When to refer to Urology. . . Outpatient
Stone >10 mm
Failure to pass symptomatic stone after conservative management
Shock wave lithotripsy
Ureteroscopic lithotripsy
Percutaneous nephrolithotomy
Laparascopic stone removal
27: When to refer to Urology. . . Urgent inpatient
Bilateral obstructing stones
Intractable pain
Urosepsis
Acute renal failure
Anuria
28: Take home points Calcium oxalate stones are the most common type
Non-contrast CT is test of choice for diagnosis
Increase fluid intake for acute treatment and prevention
Only limited evaluation necessary after the first episode
29: References Kidney stones: pathophysiology and medical management. Lancet 2006; 367: 333-44.
Medical management of common urinary calculi. Amer Fam Phys, 2006; 74(1): 86-94.
Medical management of stone disease. Curr Opin Urol, 2003; 13: 229-233.
Pathophysiology and management of calcium stones. Urol Clin N Am, 2007; 34: 323-334.
Management of kidney stones. BMJ 2007; 334: 468072.
The contemporary management of renal and ureteric calculi. BJU 2006; 98: 1283-1288.
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