Is there a disorder of phosphate metabolism in idiopathic hypercalciuria?

Hypophosphatemia either as a consequence of secondary hyperparathyroidism or as a consequence of a primary defect in phosphate metabolism appears to be a well established abnormality among subsets of patients with idiopathic hypercalciuria and nephrolithiasis. The detailed biochemical events that lead to hypophosphatemia in those patients who exhibit a primary abnormality of phosphate metabolism remain to be clarified.