Partial dissolution of struvite calculus with oral acetohydroxamic acid.

Most staghorn calculi occur in patients who have chronic urinary tract infections with urea-splitting organisms. Acetohydroxamic acid, an inhibitor of the bacterial urease enzyme, is currently undergoing clinical trials to determine whether or not it can prevent stone growth in patients at risk. We report on a patient whose stones grew while she was taking placebo and then decreased in size when she took the active drug.