Hyperoxaluria is an important risk factor for kidney stones, approximately 80% of which are primarily composed of calcium oxalate. Hyperoxaluria is typically diagnosed by performing a 24 hour urine collection and levels above 45 mg/day are considered abnormal…
This was an interesting case and all those who responded correctly identified that the patient had bowel pathology. However, only one person figured out that the issue was an ileostomy. This patient had a low urine volume and…
A 65yo man was reviewed in the clinic for assessment of kidney stones. He has a history of stones for at least 8 years and has been passing small calculi on a regular basis for the last few…
Developing accurate animal models of human diseases is a well-established research goal but a recent paper reporting a new animal model of nephrolithiasis caught my attention. Kidney stones are an important cause of morbidity and dealing with them…
Can you have an acidosis with normal serum bicarbonate? Of course you can, it’s just incomplete. Incomplete distal renal tubular acidosis (idRTA) that is. RTA was first described in 1935, confirmed as a renal tubular disorder in 1946,…
How many of you have spoken with patients who complain of mid-back pain and tell you that their kidneys hurt? While dull, aching pain in the mid-lower back is more likely to be associated with musculoskeletal etiologies, kidney-related…
I stumbled across a bit of Nephrology/Urology history the other day while strolling around a hospital in Paris: this plaque commemorating one of the key steps in the invention of ureteroscopy and cystoscopy. The plaque can be found…
Hypouricemia is defined as a serum uric acid level less than 2mg/dL. Although it is generally considered benign, hypouricemia has been associated with several important conditions relevant to nephrologists, including acute kidney injury, uric acid nephrolithiasis, and SIADH…
Secondary prevention of nephrolithiasis is often overlooked, but since a large percentage of 1st-time stone formers will go on to develop another episode of nephrolithiasis, it makes sense to make simple dietary modifications that can minimize the risk…
Calcium phosphate stones are actually pretty rare. While calcium oxalate stones comprise about 80% of all instances of nephrolithiasis, calcium phosphate stones typically occur only in a small subset of patients–about 5 to 10% of patients according to…
