Analysis of Chemical Composition of Urinary Stones

Abstract

Urinary stones develop in the course of complex physical and chemical processes and consist mainly of crystalline substances. Among numerous methods of analysing the chemical composition of uroliths the Merckognost reagent kit is used most commonly in clinical practice. The aim of the study was to assess based on this method, the composition of spontaneously excreted or surgically removed stones of patients with urolithiasis. The study material consisted of 392 chemical analyses of stones from 1747 patients with urolithiasis treated at an Urology Ward in the course of five years. Chemical analysis revealed calcium in 88.3% of calculi and phosphate as a part of two or three component calculi in 53.7% of cases. The mineral composition of urinary stones was in great percentage of the cases in accordance with the mineral sediment of the urine. The conformity of occurrence of particular elements in urinary sediment and in uroliths was 64–78% and constituted 78% of calcium oxalate, 72% of phosphate and 64% of uric acid and urate stone formers.