Search

Oral potassium citrate therapy was recently approved for treatment of urolithiasis based on results of experiments in a university research setting. However, no supporting studies from private practice have been published. The present study was undertaken to assess the response to one week of oral potassium citrate therapy (60 mEq/day), with respect to urinary risk factors for kidney stones, in a private practice setting. A significant rise in urinary pH, citrate, and potassium excretion, accompanying a significant fall in calcium excretion, were observed. Urinary saturation of calcium oxalate was significantly reduced, as some risk factors in urolithiasis were corrected with oral potassium citrate therapy. The response to therapy in private practice was comparable to that observed in a university research setting.

A 24-hour urine collection was made in 43 randomly selected patients (11 female, 32 male), one to three months following extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL) with a Dornier HM3 lithotripter at Humana/Medical City Dallas. In order to better reveal metabolic abnormalities, each patient followed a restricted diet (low in calcium, sodium, and meat) and did not take medications which can affect the results of these studies.