Abstract
BackgroundThe Democratic Republic of Congo has been a country of intensive mining activities for centuries, but the data on the presence of heavy metals in stones are lacking. This study aimed to identify different heavy metals in urinary tract stones and to investigate their association with the main components of urinary stones.MethodsThirty-six stones from urolithiasis patients (n = 36) followed in 10 hospitals in the Democratic Republic of Congo between January 2016 and September 2019 were analyzed by Fourier transform infrared spectrophotometry. Further analysis using X-ray fluorescence was conducted at the Laboratory of Solids Physics.ResultsEight heavy metals were detected in all the stones analyzed. The average (SD) number of heavy metals detected by stone was 5 (1.2). Iron and strontium were detected in all the stones analyzed. Other heavy metals detected included zinc, copper, bromine, rubidium, lead and nickel. Rubidium had the highest concentration in the stones regardless of the sampling site. There was no statistically significant association between the content of heavy metals at the center level and at the crown level of the stones. Rubidium had more affinity with phosphates and purines (p ˂ 0.001). Iron and strontium exhibited a high affinity with weddellite than with whewellite.ConclusionIron and Strontium were present in all stones analyzed. The presence of heavy metals in stones analyzed might suggest environmental pollution rather than crystalline induction factors.
Highlights
The Democratic Republic of Congo has been a country of intensive mining activities for centuries, but the data on the presence of heavy metals in stones are lacking
Large diameter 31 mm stone extracted from a patient’s bladder after cystolithotomy. It is predominantly composed of anhydrous acid and has crystals of 6.9 hydroxy methyl acids (HMA) on its surface
5 Conclusion We analyzed the presence of heavy metal in kidney stones from thirty-six patients using X-ray Fluorescence by μ-Synchrotron Radiation
Summary
The Democratic Republic of Congo has been a country of intensive mining activities for centuries, but the data on the presence of heavy metals in stones are lacking. The presence of heavy metals in urinary stones and their role in crystal induction remain poorly understood [1,2,3,4]. They may play a role in crystal induction, depending on the links between heavy metals and solutes capable of crystallizing in urine. Some studies reported that a higher content of metals in the nucleus rather than in the peripheral layers of stones might have a possible lithogenic effect [1, 2, 5]. Several studies have demonstrated the link between traces of heavy metals and the chemical and crystalline composition of stones [7, 8]. The inorganic components (calcium oxalate and phosphates) being more loaded by these heavy metals unlike the organic components (uric acid and cystine) which have a low content [1, 7, 8]
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