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This report describes a patient who developed a spheroidal calculus with a central part composed of potassium urate, surrounded by a continuous layer of calcium oxalate monohydrate with crystals of calcium oxalate dihydrate on the surface. The mechanism of calculus development is also suggested.

Pathological calcification generally consists of the formation of solid deposits of hydroxyapatite (calcium phosphate) in soft tissues. Supersaturation is the thermodynamic driving force for crystallization, so it is believed that higher blood levels of calcium and phosphate increase the risk of cardiovascular calcification. However several factors can promote or inhibit the natural process of pathological calcification. This cross-sectional study evaluated the relationship between physiological levels of urinary phytate and heart valve calcification in a population of elderly out subjects. A population of 188 elderly subjects (mean age: 68 years) was studied. Valve calcification was measured by echocardiography. Phytate determination was performed from a urine sample and data on blood chemistry, end-systolic volume, concomitant diseases, cardiovascular risk factors, medication usage and food were obtained. The study population was classified in three tertiles according to level of urinary phytate: low (1.21 μM). Subjects with higher levels of urinary phytate had less mitral annulus calcification and were less likely to have diabetes and hypercholesterolemia. In the multivariate analysis, age, serum phosphorous, leukocytes total count and urinary phytate excretion appeared as independent factors predictive of presence of mitral annulus calcification. There was an inverse correlation between urinary phytate content and mitral annulus calcification in our population of elderly out subjects. These results suggest that consumption of phytate-rich foods may help to prevent cardiovascular calcification evolution.

Abstract Risk factors associated with severity and mortality attributable to COVID-19 have been reported in different cohorts, highlighting the occurrence of acute kidney injury (AKI) in 25% of them. Among other, SARS-CoV-2 targets renal tubular cells and can cause acute renal damage. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the usefulness of urinary parameters in predicting intensive care unit (ICU) admission, mortality and development of AKI in hospitalized patients with COVID-19. Retrospective observational study, in a tertiary care hospital, between March 1st and April 19th, 2020. We recruited adult patients admitted consecutively and positive for SARS-CoV-2. Urinary and serum biomarkers were correlated with clinical outcomes (AKI, ICU admission, hospital discharge and in-hospital mortality) and evaluated using a logistic regression model and ROC curves. A total of 199 COVID-19 hospitalized patients were included. In AKI, the logistic regression model with a highest area under the curve (AUC) was reached by the combination of urine blood and previous chronic kidney disease, with an AUC of 0.676 (95%CI 0.512–0.840; p = 0.023); urine specific weight, sodium and albumin in serum, with an AUC of 0.837 (95% CI 0.766–0.909; p