Nephrolithiasis in Costa Rica: Biochemistry and Epidemiology

Abstract

Aim: Kidney stones are the third most common urological disease, after urinary infection and prostatic disease. It is a considerable cause of morbility due to the symptoms it presents, causing many consults to the health system. This disease is well known in other countries, including Latinoamerica, but in our country there is no information available about our statistics. This study pretends to stablish the frequency of differential and biochemical composition of kidney stones in our population and distinguish differences between age and gender.

Methods: 291 cases whose kidney stones samples were referred to our center in the period from October first, 2015 to September 30th, 2017. Description of the clinical and biological variables was made, and statistical comparisons were made in terms of biochemical composition, gender and age to find differences.

Results: There was a higher prevalence of kidney stones in men (62%) compared to women (38%). The median age of presentation of the disease was 45 years. It occurs in the fifth decade of life in men and the forth decade in women. The compounds calcium oxalate, apatite carbonate, uric acid and struvite were the most prevalent among the patients.

Conclusion: The situation of renal lithiasis in Costa Rica is similar to that described in other countries. A greater age range was observed in the distribution of the disease in both sexes. The disease in the country represents a multifactorial problem in which comorbidities and dietary factors favor renal lithiasis.