Objective: To describe the demographic, clinical and laboratory data of patients with urolithiasis in Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil.
Patients and methods: Secondary data were collected from the medical records of 197 patients with urolithiasis, during the period 1996-2006. Clinical evaluation and 24-h urine collection for measurements of urinary volume, creatinine, calcium, phosphorous, uric acid, sodium, potassium and magnesium were performed. Density and pH value were determined in a first-voided morning urine sample. Cystinuria was detected by stone and/or crystal analysis.
Results: The male/female ratio was 1:1.7. The average age of symptom onset was 35.8 ± 13.3 years, with no significant difference between the genders. The most affected age range was 20-39 years (56.3%). Patients reported renal colic (72.4%), emergency room attendance (69.5%), a single episode of lithiasis (46.7%) or recurrent episodes (53.3%). The right kidney was most often affected in women (44.4%), while men suffered predominantly from bilateral lithiasis (39.7%). The main metabolic changes observed were hypernatriuria (80.7%), hypercalciuria (48.7%), hyperuricosuria (17.3%), and cystinuria in 5 patients (2.5%). The average pH value and density were 5.74 ± 0.59 and 1015.6 ± 7.1, respectively. Urinary volume was low in 43% of the cases.
Conclusion: Lithiasis was most prevalent in adults aged 20-39 years, and affected predominantly women in our region. The most frequent metabolic changes, in descending order, were hypernatriuria, followed by hypercalciuria and hyperuricosuria, associated with low fluid intake.