Kidney stones are made of
salts and minerals in the urine that stick together to form small "pebbles."
They can be as small as grains of sand or as large as golf balls. They may stay
in your
kidneys or travel out of your body through the
urinary tract. The urinary tract is the system that makes urine and carries it
out of your body. It is made up of the kidneys, the tubes that connect the
kidneys to the bladder (the
ureters), the bladder, and the tube that leads from
the bladder out of the body (the
urethra).
When a stone travels through a
ureter, it may cause no pain. Or it may cause great pain and other
symptoms.
Kidney stones form when
a change occurs in the normal balance of water, salts, minerals, and other
things found in urine. The most common cause of kidney stones is not drinking
enough water. Try to drink enough water to keep your urine clear (about 8 to 10
glasses of water a day). Some people are more likely to get kidney stones
because of a medical condition or family history.
Kidney stones
may also be an inherited disease. If other people in your family have had
kidney stones, you may have them too.
What are the symptoms?
Kidney stones often cause
no pain while they are in the kidneys, but they can cause sudden, severe pain
as they travel from the kidneys to the bladder.
Call a doctor
right away if you think you have kidney stones. Watch for severe pain in your
side, belly, or groin or for urine that looks pink or red. You may also feel
sick to your stomach (nausea) and may vomit.
How are kidney stones diagnosed?
You may first
find out that you have kidney stones when you see your doctor or go to an
emergency room with pain in your belly or side. Your doctor will ask you
questions about your pain and lifestyle. He or she will examine you and may do
imaging tests such as
X-rays to look at your kidneys and urinary tract.
You may need more tests if you have more than one stone or have
a family history of stones. To find out the cause of your kidney stones, your
doctor may order a blood test and ask you to collect your urine for 24 hours.
This can help your doctor find out if you are likely to have more stones in the
future.
Kidney stones may not cause any pain. If this is the case,
you may learn you have them when your doctor finds them during a test for
another disease.
How are they treated?
For most stones, your doctor
will suggest you take care of yourself at home. You may need to take pain
medicine. You'll need to drink enough water and other fluids so you don't get
dehydrated. Your doctor may give you a medicine to
help the stone pass.
If a stone is too large to pass on its own,
or if it gets stuck in the urinary tract, you may need more treatment. About 1
or 2 out of every 10 kidney stones need more than home treatment.1
The most common medical treatment is
extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL). ESWL uses shock waves to break a
kidney stone into small pieces. The bits can pass out of your body in your
urine. Other times, a doctor will need to remove the stone or place a small
flexible plastic tube (called a
stent) in the ureter to keep it open while stones
pass.
Will I have kidney stones again?
After you have
had kidney stones, you are more likely to have them again. You can help prevent
them by drinking enough water to keep your urine clear, about 8 to 10 glasses
of water a day. You may have to eat less of certain foods. Your doctor may also
give you medicine that helps prevent stones from forming.
Kidney stones
may form when the normal balance of water, salts, minerals, and other
substances found in urine changes. How this balance changes determines the type
of kidney stone you have. Most kidney stones are
calcium-type—they form when the
calcium levels in your urine change.
Factors that change your urine balance include:
Not drinking enough water. Try to drink enough
water to keep your urine clear (about 8 to 10 glasses of water a day). When you
don't drink enough water, the salts, minerals, and other substances in the
urine can stick together and form a stone. This is the most common cause of
kidney stones.
Medical conditions. Many medical conditions can
affect the normal balance and cause stones to form.
Gout is one example. Also, people who have
inflammatory bowel disease or who have had surgery on
their intestines may not absorb fat from their
intestines in a normal way. This changes the way the
intestines process calcium and other minerals, and it may lead to kidney
stones.
More commonly, kidney stones can run in families, as stones
often occur in family members over several generations.
In rare
cases, a person forms kidney stones because the
parathyroid glands produce too much of a hormone,
which leads to higher calcium levels and possibly calcium kidney stones.
Kidney stones
form in the kidney. If they stay in the kidney, they do not typically cause
pain. When they travel out of the body through the tubes of the
urinary tract (including the
ureters, which connect the kidney to the bladder, or
the
urethra, which leads outside the body), their movement
may cause:
No symptoms, if the stone is small enough.
Sudden, severe pain that gets worse in waves. Stones may cause
intense pain in the back, side, abdomen, groin, or genitals. People who have
had a kidney stone often describe the pain as "the worst pain I've ever had."
Feeling sick to the stomach (nausea) and
vomiting.
Blood in the urine (hematuria), which can occur either
with stones that stay in the kidney or with those that travel through the
ureters.
Frequent and painful urination, which may occur when the
stone is in the ureter or after the stone has left the bladder and is in the
urethra. Painful urination may occur when a
urinary tract infection is also present.
A
kidney stone begins as a tiny piece of crystal in the
kidney. When the urine leaves the kidney, it may carry the crystal out, or the
crystal may stay in the kidney. If the crystal stays in the kidney, over time
more small crystals join it and form a larger kidney stone.
Most
stones leave the kidney and travel through the
urinary tract when they are still small enough to pass easily out of the body.
No treatment is necessary for these stones. But larger stones may become stuck
in the tubes that carry urine from the kidney to the bladder (ureters). This can cause pain and possibly block the
urine from flowing to the bladder and out of the body. The pain often becomes
worse over 15 to 60 minutes until it is severe. The pain may ease when the
stone no longer blocks the flow of urine, and it often goes away when the stone
passes into the bladder. Medical treatment is often necessary for larger
stones.
The smaller a stone is, the more likely it is to exit the body
(pass) on its own. About 9 out of every 10 stones smaller than
5 mm (0.2 in) and about 5 out
of every 10 stones
5 mm (0.2 in) to
10 mm (0.4 in) pass on their
own. Only 1 or 2 out of every 10 kidney stones need more than home
treatment.1
The average time a stone takes
to pass ranges between 1 and 3 weeks, and two-thirds of stones that pass on
their own pass within 4 weeks of when the symptoms appeared.2
Almost half of all people who get kidney stones will get more
stones within 5 years unless they take preventive measures.3 When you have kidney stones several times over a period of
years, the length of time between stones tends to get shorter. It is not
possible to predict who will have more stones in the future and who will
not.
Problems that may occur with kidney stones include:
An increased risk of
urinary tract infection, or making an existing urinary
tract infection worse.
Kidney damage, if stones block the flow of
urine out of both kidneys (or out of one kidney, for people who have a single
kidney). For most people with healthy kidneys, kidney stones do not cause
serious damage until they completely block the urinary tract for 2 weeks or
longer.
Kidney stones are more serious for people who have a single
kidney or an
impaired immune system or have had a kidney
transplant.
Stones in pregnant women
When stones occur during
pregnancy, an
obstetrician and
urologist should determine whether you need treatment.
Treatment will depend on your
trimester of pregnancy.
Stones in children
Kidney stones are not common
in children. When they occur, it is usually between the ages of 8 and 10.
Children with kidney stones may also have a urinary tract infection. Children
who have stones often have other medical problems, such as an abnormally
developed urinary system, a
metabolic disorder, or
genetic risks, such as
cystic fibrosis.
Several factors make it more
likely you will get
kidney stones. Some of these you can control, and
others you cannot.
Risk factors you can control
Risk factors for both
new and recurring kidney stones that you can control include:
Fluids you drink.
The most common cause of kidney stones is
not drinking enough water. Try to drink enough water to keep your urine clear
(about 8 to 10 glasses of water a day).
Drinking grapefruit juice
may increase your risk for developing kidney stones.
Diet. If you think that your diet may be a
problem, schedule an appointment with a
dietitian and review your food choices.
Vitamins C and D can increase your risk
of kidney stones when you take more than the daily recommendations. Read
supplement labels carefully, and do not take more than the recommended daily
doses.
Levels of calcium affect your risk of kidney stones.
Getting your recommended amounts of calcium combined with a low-sodium,
low-protein diet may decrease your risk of kidney stones.
Diets high in protein, sodium, and
oxalate-rich foods, such as dark green vegetables,
increase your risk for developing kidney stones.
Weight and weight gain. Weight gain can result in both
insulin resistance and increased calcium in the urine,
which can result in a greater risk for kidney stones. In one study, weight gain
since early adulthood, a high
body mass index (BMI), and a large waist size
increased a person's risk for kidney stones.4
Activity level. People who are not very active may have more
problems with kidney stones.
Medicine. Some
medicines, such as acetazolamide (Diamox), or indinavir (Crixivan), can cause
kidney stones to form.
Risk factors you cannot control
Risk factors for
both new and recurring kidney stones that you cannot control include:
Age and gender.
Men between the ages of 30 and 50 are
most likely to get kidney stones.
Postmenopausal
women with low
estrogen levels have an increased risk for developing
kidney stones. Women who have had their ovaries removed are also at increased
risk.
Call your doctor if you have been diagnosed with a kidney
stone and have another problem, such as:
Severe nausea or vomiting.
Fever
and chills.
Severe pain in your side in the area of your kidney
(flank pain).
Call your doctor to determine if you need an exam when
you:
Have been diagnosed with a kidney stone, and
you need a stronger pain medicine.
Pass a stone, even if there was
little or no pain. Save the stone, and ask your doctor whether it should be
tested.
Watchful Waiting
Watchful waiting is a wait-and-see approach. If
you get better on your own, you won't need medical treatment. If you get worse,
you and your doctor will decide what to do next.
If you are
passing a kidney stone under your doctor's advice, you may be able to pass the
stone without medical treatment if you:
Can control your pain with medicine.
Know how to look for and collect kidney stones you
pass.
Do not have signs of infection, such as fever and
chills.
Your first diagnosis of
kidney stones often occurs when you see your doctor or
go to an emergency room because you are in great pain. Your doctor or an
emergency medicine specialist will ask you questions,
examine you (medical history and physical exam), test your urine,
and may do some imaging tests (such as an
ultrasound,
X-ray, or
CT scan) before suggesting treatment. After you pass a
stone, your doctor may give you another exam to find out whether you are likely
to get kidney stones again.
Tests to diagnose kidney stones
Your doctor may do
any of the following tests to help diagnose kidney stones, see where they are
located, and determine whether they are causing or may cause damage to the
urinary tract.
A noncontrast
spiral computed tomography (CT) scan is the preferred
test for kidney stones. It is a
CT scan of the
ureters and kidneys, but the scanner moves in a circle
as you move through the machine. This test takes half as long as a standard CT
scan, provides better images of the kidneys and other organs, and provides
different views of the organs.
An
intravenous pyelogram (IVP) is an X-ray test that can
show the size, shape, and position of the urinary tract, including the kidneys
and ureters. During IVP, a dye called contrast material is injected into a vein
(intravenous, IV) in your arm. Then a series of X-ray
pictures is taken at timed intervals. The noncontrast spiral CT replaced this
test as the preferred test. See an
IVP of a kidney stone.
A
retrograde pyelogram may be done if the IVP or CT scan
does not provide a diagnosis. Rather then being injected through a vein in your
arm, the dye is injected through the tubes that carry urine from the kidneys to
the bladder (ureters).
Urinalysis and
urine cultures test your urine. A urinalysis measures
several different components of urine, including its acidity (pH) and whether it contains blood. A urine culture
tests for a
urinary tract infection (UTI).
An
abdominal X-ray (KUB) gives a picture of the kidneys,
the tubes that connect the kidneys to the bladder (ureters), and the bladder.
It may identify a kidney stone. You may also have this test a few weeks after
passing the stone to make sure the entire stone passed (if the stone was
originally visible by X-ray).
An
ultrasound exam of the kidneys (ultrasonogram) uses
reflected sound waves to produce a picture of the kidneys. This is the
preferred test for pregnant women.
Tests to determine what type of kidney stone formed
Determining the
type of your kidney stone will help with treatment
decisions and measures to prevent stones from forming again. Tests to determine
the type of stone include:
A
medical history and physical exam focused on
determining your risk for more kidney stones. This includes questions about
your diet, lifestyle habits, and medical conditions that may make it easier for
stones to form.
Stone analysis. Your doctor may ask you
to collect stones by straining your urine through a fine-mesh strainer or fine
gauze. He or she will then determine what type of stone it
is.
Blood chemistry screen, to measure kidney function,
levels of calcium, uric acid, phosphorus, electrolytes and other substances
that may contribute to stone formation. This test can help your doctor
determine your chance of having stones in the future.
Urine collection for 24 hours, to measure volume, pH, calcium, oxalate, uric
acid, and other substances that may contribute to stone formation.
You may not have the above tests. Some doctors do them
routinely, and others do them only if they feel you may have more stones in the
future. Your doctor generally suggests them if you passed more than one stone
and if you have a family history of stones.
Women of childbearing
age may get a
pregnancy test to make sure that pregnancy is not the
cause of symptoms and that it is safe to take X-rays.
Your first diagnosis of
kidney stones often occurs when you see your doctor or
go to an emergency room because you are in great pain. Your doctor may suggest
that you wait for the stone to pass and take pain medicine or have a procedure
to remove the stone.
Most small stones [less than
5 mm (0.2 in)] move out of the
body (pass) without the need for any treatment other than taking pain medicine
and drinking enough fluids.
The smaller a stone is, the more likely it is to pass on its own.
About 9 out of every 10 stones smaller than
5 mm (0.2 in) and about 5 out
of every 10 stones
5 mm (0.2 in) to
10 mm (0.4 in) pass on their
own. Only 1 or 2 out of every 10 kidney stones need more than home
treatment.1
The average time a stone
takes to pass ranges between 1 and 3 weeks, and two-thirds of stones that pass
on their own pass within 4 weeks of when the symptoms appeared.2
Not all kidney stones are diagnosed because of immediate
symptoms. Your stone may not be causing you pain, and your doctor may find it
during a routine exam or an exam for another condition or disease. In this
case, you have the same treatment options as noted below.
Treatment for your first stone
If your doctor
thinks the stone can pass on its own, and you feel you can deal with the pain,
he or she may suggest home treatment, including:
Using pain medicine. Nonprescription medicine, such as
nonsteroidal anti-inflammatories (NSAIDs), may relieve
your pain. Your doctor can prescribe stronger pain medicine if
needed.
Drinking enough fluids. You'll need to keep drinking water
and other fluids when you are passing a kidney stone. If you don't get enough
fluids, you could get
dehydrated. Drink enough fluids to keep your urine
clear, about 8 to 10 glasses a day. If you have kidney, heart, or liver disease
and are on fluid restrictions, talk with your doctor before increasing your
fluid intake.
Your doctor may prescribe medicine to help your body pass
the stone.
Alpha-blockers have been shown to help kidney stones
pass more quickly with very few side effects.5 Ask
your doctor if these medicines can help you.
If your pain is too
severe, if the stones are blocking the
urinary tract, or if you also have an infection, your doctor will probably
suggest medical or surgical treatment. Your options are:
Extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL). ESWL uses shock waves that pass easily through the body but are
strong enough to break up a kidney stone. This is the most commonly used
medical treatment for kidney stones. See a picture of
ESWL.
Ureteroscopy. The
surgeon passes a very thin telescope tube (ureteroscope) up the urinary tract
to the stone's location, where he or she uses instruments to remove the stone
or break it up for easier removal. Occasionally, you may need a small hollow
tube (ureteral stent) placed in the
ureter for a short time to keep it open and drain
urine and any stone pieces. Ureteroscopy is often used for stones that have
moved from the kidney to the ureter. See a picture of
ureteroscopy.
Percutaneous nephrolithotomy or nephrolithotripsy. The surgeon puts a narrow
telescope into the kidney through a cut in your back. He or she then removes
the stone (lithotomy) or breaks it up and removes it (lithotripsy). This
procedure may be used if ESWL does not work or if you have a very large stone.
See a picture of
nephrolithotomy.
Open surgery.
The surgeon makes a cut in the side or the belly to reach the kidneys and
remove the stone. This treatment is rarely used.
After you have had a
kidney stone, you are more likely to have one again. Almost half of all people
who have a stone will have more stones within 5 years unless they take
preventive measures.3 You may be able to prevent
getting more kidney stones by drinking more fluids and making changes in your
diet. If you have risk factors for having more stones, such as a family history
of stones, your doctor may suggest medicines that help prevent stones from
forming.
What To Think About
Your doctor may ask you to
collect your urine for 24 hours after you pass a stone
so your urine can be tested to find out the
type and cause of the stone. Knowing the type of stone
can help determine what you can do to avoid having another.
In
rare cases, a person forms kidney stones because the
parathyroid glands produce too much of a hormone,
which leads to higher calcium levels and possibly calcium kidney stones. To
help prevent stones from coming back, your doctor may suggest surgery to remove
a parathyroid gland or glands (parathyroidectomy).
You
may require more treatment for your kidney stones if you have continuing
problems and:
If you have more than one
kidney stone, especially if you have a family history
of stones, you are more likely to have kidney stones again. But you can take
steps to help prevent them:
Drink more fluids. Try to drink enough water to
keep your urine clear, about 8 to 10 glasses of water per day. Slowly increase
how much you drink, perhaps adding one more glass of water a day until you are
drinking 8 to 10 glasses a day. This slow increase will give your body time to
adjust to the extra fluids. You are drinking enough water when your urine is
clear or light yellow. If it is dark yellow, you are not drinking enough
fluids. If you have kidney, heart, or liver disease and have fluid
restrictions, talk with your doctor before increasing how much you
drink.
Change your diet. This may be helpful, but it depends on
what is causing your kidney stones. Your doctor may do more tests before
deciding whether changing your diet will help reduce your risk for developing
another stone. The results of these tests may suggest that it could be helpful
to do one or more of the following:
Increase how much
fiber you eat. Fiber includes oat bran, beans, whole
wheat breads, wheat cereals, cabbage, and carrots.
Eat less beef,
pork, and poultry.
Eat a moderate or high amount of calcium-rich
foods, such as dairy products. Getting your recommended amounts of calcium,
combined with a diet low in sodium and protein, may decrease your risk of
kidney stones.
Try not to drink grapefruit juice. Drinking
grapefruit juice may increase your risk for developing kidney stones.
Avoid foods that are high in
oxalate, such as dark green vegetables, nuts, and
chocolate.
Try not to add salt when you cook or eat. Try removing
the salt shaker from your table.
For more information on diet and kidney stones, see:
If you get more kidney stones despite
drinking more fluids and making changes to your diet, your doctor may give you
medicine to help dissolve your stones or to prevent new ones from forming. You
may also receive medicine if you have a disease that increases your risk of
forming kidney stones. Which medicine you take depends on the
type of stone you may have.
For more
information on the medicines used to dissolve kidney stones and prevent new
ones from forming, see the Medications section of this topic.
Home treatment is often the only thing
you need to do when passing a
kidney stone. Home treatment includes drinking enough
fluids, taking pain medicine, and possibly straining and collecting your urine
to help determine the type of stone you have.
Drink fluids
You need to drink enough water to
keep your urine clear, about 8 to 10 glasses of water a day when you are
passing a kidney stone. If you have kidney, heart, or liver disease and are on
fluid restrictions, talk with your doctor before drinking more fluids.
Use pain medicine
Medicine you can buy without a
prescription, such as
nonsteroidal anti-inflammatories (NSAIDs), may relieve
your pain. NSAIDs include aspirin and ibuprofen (such as Motrin and Advil).
Your doctor can prescribe stronger pain medicine if needed.
Collect kidney stones and urine
Your doctor may
ask you to collect your kidney stone when it passes so that he or she can
examine it to see what caused it to form.
Your doctor will give you a strainer. Urinate
through the strainer and save any stones, including those that look like sand
or gravel. Continue to do this for 3 days after your pain
stops.
You can also urinate into a cup or container and empty the
container through a strainer to collect the kidney stone. Strainers may be
available at your local drugstore. You can also use coffee filters to strain
urine.
Allow the stones to dry, and store them in a plastic or
glass container until you can take them to your doctor.
Your doctor may also ask you to
collect your urine for 24 hours after you pass a
stone, so he or she can check your urine to help determine the
type and cause of the stone. Knowing the type of the
stone may help you prevent getting stones in the future.
Medicine you can buy without a
prescription, such as
nonsteroidal anti-inflammatories (NSAIDs), may relieve
your pain. Your doctor can give you stronger pain medicine if needed. NSAIDs
include aspirin and ibuprofen (such as Motrin and Advil).
Your
doctor may prescribe medicine to help your body pass the stone.
Alpha-blockers have been shown to help kidney stones
pass more quickly with very few side effects.5 Ask
your doctor if these medicines can help you.
If you get more
kidney stones despite drinking more fluids and making
changes to your diet, your doctor may give you medicine to help dissolve your
stones or to prevent new ones from forming. You may also receive prescription
medicine if you have a disease that increases your risk of forming kidney
stones. Which medicine you take depends on the
type of stones you have.
Medication Choices
Medicine to prevent calcium stones
About 80% of
kidney stones are
calcium stones.1 Calcium
stones cannot be dissolved by changing your diet or taking medicines. These
medicines may keep calcium stones from getting bigger or may prevent new
calcium stones from forming:
Thiazides (such as hydrochlorothiazide,
chlorthalidone) and
potassium citrate (Urocit-K) are commonly used to
prevent calcium stones.
Orthophosphate (Neutra-Phos) is sometimes used. It has
more side effects than thiazides or potassium citrate.
Medicine to prevent uric acid stones
About 5% to
10% of kidney stones are made of uric acid, a waste product that normally exits
the body in the urine.1 Uric acid stones can sometimes
be dissolved with medicine.
Potassium citrate (Urocit-K) and
sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) prevent the urine
from becoming too acidic, which helps prevent uric acid stones.
Allopurinol (Lopurin, Zyloprim) makes it more
difficult for your body to make uric acid.
Medicine to prevent cystine stones
Less than 1%
of kidney stones are made of a chemical called cystine.1 Cystine stones are more likely to occur in families with a
disease that results in too much cystine in the urine (cystinuria).
Potassium citrate (Urocit-K) prevents the urine from
becoming too acidic, which helps prevent cystine kidney stones from
forming.
Penicillamine (Cuprimine, Depen),
tiopronin, and
captopril (Capoten) all help keep cystine dissolved in
the urine, which makes cystine-type kidney stones less likely to form.
Medicine to prevent struvite stones
About 10% to
15% of kidney stones are struvite stones.1 They can
also be called infection stones if they occur with kidney or urinary tract
infections (UTIs). These types of kidney stones sometimes are also called
staghorn calculi if they grow large enough.
Urease inhibitors (Lithostat) are rarely used because
of their side effects and poor results.
What To Think About
If you have uric acid stones
or cystine stones and are taking medicine to prevent more stones from forming,
you will most likely have to continue taking that medicine for the rest of your
life.
Some struvite stones (staghorn calculi) form because of
frequent
kidney infections. If you have a struvite stone, you
will most likely need antibiotics to cure the infection and help prevent new
stones from forming, and you will most likely need surgery to remove the
stone.
People rarely need
open surgery to treat
kidney stones. In most cases, other less invasive
treatments are successful. You may need open surgery when the kidney stone is
causing severe bleeding that cannot be controlled. In this case, the surgeon
makes a cut in your side or stomach to reach the kidneys, and he or she removes
the stone.
Another type of surgery,
percutaneous nephrolithotomy or nephrolithotripsy, is
also used. The surgeon puts a narrow telescope into your kidney through small
cuts in your back. He or she then removes (lithotomy) or breaks up and removes
(lithotripsy) the stone. This surgery may be used if other procedures do not
work or if you have a very large stone. See a picture of
nephrolithotomy.
In rare cases, a person
forms kidney stones because the
parathyroid glands produce too much of a hormone,
which leads to higher calcium levels and possibly calcium-type kidney stones.
To help prevent stones from coming back, your doctor may suggest surgery to
remove a parathyroid gland or glands (parathyroidectomy).
If your pain is too great,
the
kidney stone is blocking the urinary system, or you
also have an infection, your doctor will probably suggest medical treatment.
Your options are:
Extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL). ESWL uses shock waves that pass easily through the body but are
strong enough to break up a kidney stone. This is the most commonly used
medical procedure for treating kidney stones. See a picture of
ESWL.
Ureteroscopy. The
surgeon passes a very thin telescope tube (ureteroscope) up the
urinary tract to the stone's location, and then he or she uses instruments to
remove the stone or break it up for easier removal. Occasionally, you may need
a small, hollow tube (ureteral stent) placed in the
ureter to keep it open for a short time and drain
urine and any stone pieces. This procedure is often used for stones that have
moved from the kidney to the ureter. See a picture of
ureteroscopy.
The size of the stone, its location in the urinary tract,
your overall health, and other factors are all considered in deciding which
method to use when breaking up or removing a kidney stone.
National Kidney and Urologic Diseases Information
Clearinghouse
3 Information Way
Bethesda, MD 20892-3580
Phone:
1-800-891-5390
Fax:
(703) 738-4929
TDD:
1-866-569-1162 toll-free
E-mail:
nkudic@info.niddk.nih.gov
Web Address:
http://kidney.niddk.nih.gov
The National Kidney and Urologic Diseases Information
Clearinghouse (NKUDIC), a federal agency, is a service of the National
Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK). NIDDK is part
of the National Institutes of Health under the U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services. The clearinghouse provides information about diseases of the
kidneys and urologic system to people with kidney and urologic disorders and to
their families, to health professionals, and to the public. NKUDIC answers
inquiries; develops, reviews, and distributes publications; and works closely
with professional and patient organizations and government agencies to
coordinate resources about kidney and urologic diseases.
National Kidney Foundation
30 East 33rd Street
New York, NY 10016
Phone:
1-800-622-9010 (212) 889-2210
Fax:
(212) 689-9261
Web Address:
www.kidney.org
The National Kidney Foundation works to prevent kidney
and urinary tract diseases and help people affected by these conditions. Its
Web site has a lot of information about adult and child conditions. The site
has interactive tools, donor information, recipes for kidney disease patients,
and message boards for many kidney topics. Free materials, such as brochures
and newsletters, are available.
Parmar MS (2004). Kidney stones. BMJ, 328(7453): 1420–1424.
Teichman JMH (2004). Acute renal colic from ureteral
calculus. New England Journal of Medicine, 350(7):
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