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How Kidney Stone Diagnosis Is Done Through Metabolic Assessment?

  • Author by Raazi
  • Reviewed By Raazi
  • Last Edited : August 28, 2024
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Kidney stones are very painful for the bearer. Once they form in your body, then there are most chances of their continuous formation after certain elapses of time.

A metabolic assessment, which is done through blood and urine tests, helps to find the chemical reasons of the stone deposition. In many cases, kidney stone diagnosis through metabolic assessment is possible.

The majority of patients report having the sudden onslaught of excruciating pain, which is then followed by the diagnosis of kidney stones. The kidney stone makes its way into the urine collecting system once it has been moved away from the renal papilla, which is the location where it was first formed.

At this moment, it creates this excruciating pain and suffering for the sufferer. This illness, known as renal colic, is characterized by the presence of a stone in the kidney, which inhibits the organ from passing urine.

  • Blood and urine tests identify metabolic imbalances contributing to stone formation.
  • Analyzing a stone’s composition tailors prevention strategies for future stones.
  • High sodium intake increases calcium excretion, raising the risk of kidney stones.
  • Producing 2 liters of urine daily helps prevent kidney stones.
  • Citrate in urine binds with calcium, reducing stone formation.
  • Kidney stones can exist without symptoms and be detected incidentally during imaging.
  • 50% of individuals with a kidney stone will develop another within five to seven years.

When Should You Seek Medical Attention For A Kidney Stone?

  • When the pain from a kidney stone is so severe that it cannot be managed with over-the-counter pain medicines, it is time to have the stone removed. 
  • In a similar vein, it is essential to treat stones if they are found to be the cause of acute nausea or vomiting. 
  • Treatment is required for stones that are only related to a single kidney, that have poor renal function in general, or that entirely restrict the passage of urine. 
  • If a stone is causing irritating symptoms, it is sometimes a good idea to wait and see if the stone will pass on its own. 
  • In the instance of a small stone, this seems to be a perfectly reasonable course of action to take. 
  • Stones larger than 5 millimeters in size have a lower chance of passing on their own and should be treated.

What Does The Dr Do For Kidney Stones?

The first step in your doctor’s evaluation for a kidney stone is a complete review of your medical history as well as a physical examination. The history of the patient’s family, their medical history, their current symptoms all are assessed.

Any previous experiences that the patient has had with stones are also taken into consideration. A physical examination is performed in order to look for symptoms of kidney stones.

Some of these symptoms include discomfort in the groin, lower abdomen, or flank.

What Tests Are Done To Diagnose Kidney Stones?

Urine and Blood Test for Kidney Stones Diagnosis

Your physician will want a urinalysis so that he or she may examine the urine for kidney stone diagnosis. In addition to that, a sample of your blood will be collected so that your blood levels and kidney function may be evaluated.

Imaging for Kidney Stones Diagnosis

In spite of the fact that all of these procedures are necessary, the only method that will reliably identify a kidney stone is a radiologic evaluation. KUB, sometimes known as a plain X-ray, may be all that is necessary in certain situations in order to detect a stone.

If your doctor feels the need for more information, he or she may recommend that you get a computed tomography (CT) scan or an intravenous pyelogram (IVP).

What Does Your Doctor Do If There Are No Apparent Symptoms of Kidney Stones?

There are occasions when there are absolutely no symptoms connected with having kidney stones. It’s possible that your doctor will detect these stones while looking for other things in your body using X-rays.

Don’t worry; they won’t hurt. Even while a stone only rarely causes discomfort, having one can occasionally lead to additional problems, such as recurrent infections of the urinary system or blood in the urine. 

If you have already had one kidney stone, you have a greater chance of developing another one. The first step in minimizing the likelihood of developing another stone is to figure out why the original stone was produced in the first place.

A thorough investigation into the patient’s metabolic state is of great importance to the treatment.

What Does Your Doctor Do If The Stone Is Present In Your Kidney?

If you pass your stone on your own but it is still there, your doctor will have it analyzed in a laboratory to identify what it is made of.

In most cases, if your stone is removed using ureteroscopy or perc, your doctor will also send a piece of the stone to a laboratory for further research. It is essential to understand the make-up of a stone because various kinds of stones call for a variety of different treatments.

It is essential to conduct an exhaustive study of the metabolic processes involved in the formation of a stone.

It is common knowledge that kidney stones form either when there is an abnormally high concentration of crystals in the urine or when there are insufficient chemicals in the urine to protect against the crystals.

What Is Metabolic Testing for Kidney Stones?

An easy blood test and two urine samples over the course of 24 hours are typically all that are required to complete a metabolic assessment of a stone-former. The results of these metabolic investigations will provide an assessment of the likelihood that further stones will form in the future. 

On the basis of these metabolic data, a kidney stone diagnosis and course of treatment could be selected from the following options.

Low Urine Output Diagnosis

When low urine output is the diagnosis, treatment consists of increasing the amount of water that you drink. Consuming additional water can help to dilute your urine, which is the easiest thing you can do to prevent the formation of kidney stones. Your daily goal should be to urinate more than two liters worth of fluid.

Water is without a doubt the best fluid, but other liquids can also contribute toward the completion of this mission.

The Presence of an Unhealthy Amount of Calcium in Urine (Hypercalciuria) Diagnosis

If your urine contains larger than usual amounts of calcium then it may be the cause of kidney stone formation.

If so, your doctor will give you drugs that contribute to a decrease in the amount of calcium that is excreted in the urine. 

These drugs also help maintain calcium levels in the bones, which reduce the likelihood of developing osteoporosis later in life. It is likely that your doctor may advise you to take a potassium supplement besides the calcium locking drugs, usually “thiazide diuretic”.

This is because potassium loss is the most common negative consequence of using such diuretics. 

The Presence of Sodium In the Urine

Sodium is one of the elements in your body that determines the amount of calcium entering in the urine. The amount of sodium that is found in a human body is subject to stringent controls. Urine is the primary route via which excess calcium and salt are both expelled from the body. 

To put it another way, the amount of calcium that is excreted in your urine is directly proportional to the amount of salt that you consume.

To ensure that you consume fewer than 2 grams of sodium on a daily basis, you should strive to cut back on your sodium consumption.

Steer clear of “silent sources” of salt, such as pre-packaged or canned meals, quick food, water that has been softened, and sports drinks.

How And Why To Maintain Calcium Levels For Kidney Stone Treatment?

People who produce calcium oxalate stones ought to ensure that they gain an adequate amount of calcium through their food since, under normal circumstances, calcium and oxalate would ordinarily combine in the digestive tract, form a bond, and then be expelled from the body. 

Oxalate will be reabsorbed by your body and discharged in urine if calcium is not present; this will increase the likelihood that calcium oxalate stones may form in the urinary tract.

No matter what your medical condition is, you should make it a point to consume enough water each day to produce at least 2 liters worth of urine.

Hypocitraturia (Too Little Citrate in The Urine)

Citrate is a molecule that binds to calcium in the urine. Like this, it prevents calcium from mixing with oxalate or phosphate, which would otherwise lead to the formation of stones.

If your doctor determines that your potassium level is low or normal, he or she may suggest that you take potassium citrate supplements. 

If you have high potassium levels in your blood, your doctor may suggest that you take a sodium citrate supplement instead of something like bicitra or sodium bicarbonate.

Drinking citrus beverages, such as orange juice or lemonade, may boost the amount of citrate that is excreted in the urine in persons who have hypocitraturia.

Hyperoxaluria (Too Much Oxalate In the Urine)

If you have calcium oxalate stones, it is imperative that you reduce the amount of oxalates in your diet. Because there are many nutritious foods that include oxalate, we suggest that you limit the products that are highly rich in oxalate rather than completely excluding the delicious meals because of the risk of kidney stones. 

In the event that you consume foods that are high in oxalate, it is imperative that you consume an additional glass or two of water in order to flush any excess oxalate out of your system.

Does Using Medicine To Reduce Purine Levels Lower The Risk of Kidney Stones?

If you have tried a low-protein diet but still have an excessive amount of uric acid in your urine, your doctor may suggest drugs which lower down the purine levels as a treatment option.

This drug reduces the levels of uric acid in the urine by preventing purines from being converted into uric acid. Purines are a precursor to uric acid. Increase the amount of water that you drink.

Regardless of the specifics of your medical condition, you should aim to drink enough water each day to produce at least 2 liters worth of urine.

Takeaway

Kidney stones are formed due to different chemical disorders taking place in the body. Your doctor can diagnose and treat them well by finding the root cause.

Once the medication is done on metabolic assessment, it will save you from further stone creation. 

Under certain conditions, it is acceptable to disregard the presence of a kidney stone. If the stone is small (less than 5 millimeters) and does not cause any pain, there is a good chance that it will pass on its own when it enters the ureter.

It is possible to treat these stones through a process known as “watchful waiting,” which means that rather than attempting to cure the stone aggressively, your physician will monitor it to ensure that it is not growing or shifting in any way.

This can be accomplished with the help of x-rays taken at regular intervals.

How Kidney Stone Diagnosis Is Done Through Metabolic Assessment?

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