ORIGINAL RESEARCH
June 2021. Published in African Journal of Urology. Article number: 91 (2021)
Background
Uroliths are stones formed in the urinary tract. Analysis of stones helps to identify risk factors for their development and prevention of recurrence. Standard stone analysis using modern technology is not routinely done in Nigeria. This study sought to determine the chemical composition of urinary stones seen in Abuja, Nigeria.
Method
This was a retrospective study on composition of uroliths. Urinary stones surgically removed from 155 patients through minimal access surgical procedures between January 2015 and August 2019 were analysed. Optical crystallography and infrared spectroscopy were used to determine the chemical composition of the urinary stones.
Results
A total of 155 urinary stones were assembled from the patients. More stones were removed from male patients and the male to female ratio was 1.9:1. Stones were rare in the extremes of age. The predominant location (89.7%) of stones was in the upper urinary tract. All stones were of mixed composition with calcium oxalate accounting for 93.55%. Calcium oxalate, calcium phosphate and uric acid stones were more common in the upper tract, while 2 of the 3 struvite stones were found in the lower tract.
Conclusions
Stones found in this study were of mixed composition with the most common constituent being Calcium oxalate and the least common, struvite.
Keywords
Uroliths, Analysis, Composition
Link
Follow the link to view the article https://afju.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s12301-021-00195-1
Authors
Dr C. U. Undie | Dr Nnanna Ibanga Ewomazino | Raymond Kalenebari Torporo
