Medical treatment of renal stones.

INTRODUCTION

Prevalence of urolithiasisis estimated between 5-15% with a clear trend to increasing in the industrialized countries. Stone recurrent patients show an increased risk of chronic renal disease which can potentially limit their life expectancy.

OBJECTIVE

A review and summary of the different recommended treatment options to prevent urinary stone recurrence based on the type of calculi or urinary metabolic alterations in 24 h urine, according to recent guidelines and publications.

CONCLUSIONS

Dietetic and pharmacologic measures, when addressed depending on the type of stone and results of metabolic evaluation have shown a decrease up to 60% of the recurrent clinical events. The increase of prevalence worldwide and the potential risk of chronic kidney disease in these patients clearly justify the need of increasing physiopathologic knowledge leading urolithiasis formation in order to develop new and more effective drugs for its prevention.