What are kidney stones?
Kidney is a vital organ responsible for producing urine through which waste products are excreted from the body. Urine is made up of water and various waste products some of which are crystalline in nature. When there are too many of these crystals, they come together to form kidney stones.
When can there be too many crystals in urine?
- If the concentration of crystalline is higher than normal
- If the amount of water in urine is low
Are there many different types of kidney stones?
Yes, depending upon the crystalline substance that makes the stone. Most common are calcium oxalate, struvite (infection), and uric acid stones. Rarer stones can be cysteine or xanthine or phosphate
What problems/symptoms do stones cause?
- Cause pain and obstruction inside the kidneys.
- Can cause local inflammation of urothelium (kidney mucosal lining) leading to blood in the urine.
- Ureteric colic – kidney stones pass into the ureter where they can cause obstruction causing severe pain.
- Urinary tract infection (UTI) – Fever with chills and rigor.
Can these get worse?
If not treated in time – Yes, these symptoms can get worse
- Severe Urinary tract infections (UTI) lead to kidney damage and sepsis (spread of infection into the body).
- A decrease in kidney function (chronic kidney disease) leads to a decrease in urine output, swelling in the legs, anorexia, and difficulty in breathing in severe cases.
How are kidney stones diagnosed?
- Ultrasonography of kidney, ureter, and bladder (USG KUB)
- Good non-invasive investigation
- Not good at picking up ureteric stones
- X-Ray KUB
- Good in picking hard stones (calcium oxalate)
- Can miss soft stones (uric acid stones)
- Non-contrast CT scan (NCCT KUB)
- 100% sensitivity in diagnosing renal and ureteric stones
- Shows exact size, number, and location of stones
What are the treatment options available?
Multiple treatments options are available depending on the size, location, and type of kidney stones
- Medical expulsive therapy – consists of plenty of fluids along with prescribed tablets which help in easy expulsion of stone
- Endoscopic procedures – For larger and multiple stones
These are PCNL, RIRS, URS, ESWL
- Open surgeries are rarely performed in modern urology practice
Can I prevent kidney stone formation and reformation?
Yes, You can. Provided you
- Take plenty of fluids (2.5 – 3L/ day)
- Restrict sodium intake
- Maintain a healthy weight
- Adequate amount of Calcium in your diet (~1000 – 1200 mg/day)
- Limit animal protein (especially in the case of uric acid stones)
- If you had calcium oxalate stones, limit food rich in oxalate (palak, chikoo, arbi, bhindi, black grapes, nuts)
- Restrict soft drinks
- Medical treatment – some patients may need medicine to reduce stone formation
