Urinary calculi; excretion studies after oral administration of acetylsalicylic acid and glucuronolactone.

Abstract

Determinations of the factors involved in the solubility of calcium were made before and after the administration of acetylsalicylic acid and glucuronolactone in normal persons and in patients who had formed stones. The pH values of urine did not change after the drugs were administered. There was no alteration of the surface tension after the administration of acetylsalicylic acid or glucuronolactone in normal individuals or those with stones. The administration of acetylsalicylic acid or glucuronolactone did not increase either the total excretion per day or the concentration of calcium and phosphorus per milliliter beyond the range of values that existed before the drugs were given. The concentration of organic acids, such as citrates or glucuronides, in urine also have a direct bearing on the solubility product of calcium phosphate. The administration of glucuronolactone and acetylsalicylic acid in all instances raised the concentration of the glucuronides in urine, but the equilibration experiments as described did not show any direct solvent action of the glucuronides on the calcium in urine at pH 6 and the physiological concentration used.