Metabolic abnormalities and the medical management of calcium oxalate nephrolithiasis.

The lifetime prevalence of urolithiasis is approximately 12% for men and 7% for women in the United States and seems to be increasing; the cost of managing kidney stones continues to escalate. The most common kidney stones continue to be composed primarily of calcium and are an admixture of phosphate and oxalate. Of these, calcium oxalate stones are the most predominant. This review will focus only on the pathogenesis and medical management of calcium oxalate stones.