Evaluation of possible tissue damage in patients undergoing extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy employing C-reactive protein.

Extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL) has become the most common treatment for stones in the upper urinary tract. Tissue injury related to ESWL has been documented. C-reactive protein (CRP) is the classical acute-phase protein most recognized as an early marker in diseases characterized by inflammation and tissue injury. Possible tissue trauma by ESWL was evaluated by serial CRP determinations in 150 patients with kidney stones, whose follow-up was uneventful. The mean CRP-concentration prior to ESWL was 6.34 mg/l. The majority of patients did not show any further elevation of CRP-levels. Mean CRP-levels were 7.62 mg/l on the first, 6.12 mg/l on the third and 5.09 mg/l on the fifth day after ESWL. No correlation was observed between the number of shock waves and CRP levels. Judged by CRP-determinations tissue damage induced by ESWL can be considered to be minimal as no marked CRP-elevations could be observed in patients with an uneventful follow-up after ESWL.