Ambulatory diagnostic evaluation of 389 recurrent renal stone formers. A proposal for clinical classification and investigation.

389 consecutive renal stone formers (275 males, 114 females) were investigated in an out-patient stone clinic. Renal tubular acidosis (RTA) was found in 83 patients (22%). Proximal RTA was twice as common as the distal tubular type. The acidification defects were exclusively of the incomplete form with normal basal blood acidbase status. Main diagnoses besides RTA were primary hyperparathyroidism (3.5%), medullary sponge kidney (3.5%), infection induced stones (3%), urate stones (2%), intestinal disorder (1.5%) and cystinuria (0.5%). The metabolic evaluation was mainly based on 24 h urine sampling on a free diet. In 248 patients (64%) no distinct abnormality was considered to be primarily responsible for stone formation. Clinical and biochemical analysis of these so-called idiopathic stone formers disclosed a male preponderance (80%) and, compared to a non-stone-forming control group, a higher urinary calcium excretion, yet with a considerable overlap between the two groups. Hyperuricosuria and hyperoxaluria were rare findings. The conclusion of the study is given as a proposal for clinical classification and ambulatory investigation of renal stone formers.