Kidney Stones

Abstract

Numerous factors, including sex, age, race, and the patient’s geographic location, determine the prevalence of kidney stones. Kidney stones form when urine becomes supersaturated with respect to the specific components of the stone’s constituents. A multitude of monogenic and polygenic hereditary disorders that result in changes of either calcium handling at the level of kidney, bone, and gut, or calcium sensing at the calcium-sensing receptor on the parathyroid glands and renal tubular cells, can lead to hypercalciuria, urine supersaturation, and stone formation. All patients, even those with a single stone, should undergo at least a basic evaluation to rule out a systemic etiology of stone formation. Increasing fluid intake is a simple measure that has considerable impact on reducing stone growth and new stone formation.