[Effect of carbohydrate infusions on the formation of calcium oxalate deposits in the kidney: postmortem morphological and biochemical findings in humans and in animal experiments].

Histological and biochemical studies were carried out in a total of 300 patients who had died in the recovery room, and in rabbits, to investigate the frequency of deposits of calcium oxalte crystals in the kidneys, the influence of infusion therapy and the pathological significance of such deposits on the kidney tissue and on renal function. - Quite independent of any infusions, however, deposits of calcium oxalate crystals were found in the presence of kidney-specific diseases, in particular uraemia and anuric conditions. Xylitol infusions of 0.4 g/kg body weight or, in individual cases, of not more than 500 g total in 7 days, had no infllence on the appearance of calcium oxalate deposits. The blockage of the tubular system by the calcium oxalate deposits leads to a temporary reversible increase in serum urea and serum creatinine. With time, and uninfluenced by infusions, the deposits disappear out of the kidney again without having caused any organic renal damage. In the presence of a temporary excess of serum oxalate, the kidneys temporarily act like a cloaca.