24 Hours urinary citrate levels and frequency of hypocitraturia among patients with recurrent nephrolithiasis

Background: nephrolithiasis is a common disorder with high rate of prevalence and recurrence without treatment. urinary citrates,among others are important inhibitors of stone formation. the mean urinary citrate excretion is 640mg/d in healthy individuals. hypocitraturia is a common metabolic abnormality detected in stone formers. aim: to determine frequency of hypocitraturia among patients with recurrent nephrolithiasis. methods: two seventy eight (n=278) patients with renal stones admitted in urology ward nishtar hospital multan who met the inclusion criteria were included in the study.twenty four hour urine sample was collected and urinary citrate level was estimated using. results: among the study group (n=278) males were 158(56.8%) while females were 120(43.2%). mean duration of disease was 3.66+1.88 years. mean for 24 hour urinary citrate level was found out to be 290.21+74.96. hypocitraturia was found to be present in 197(70.9%) of the patients with recurrent renal stones. conclusion: low urinary citrate levels are found frequently in our patients with recurrent nephrolithiasis. twenty four hour urinary citrate level should be routinely checked in these patients. therapies should be instituted to increase the urinary citrate levels as a preventive measure. © 2016,lahore medical and dental college. all rights reserved.