Urinary Lithiasis

Urinary tract lithiasis (nephrolithiasis) is a common problem in primary care practice. In the last National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) from 2015 to 2018, the prevalence of nephrolithiasis was 11.0% (>20 year US adults) [1]. There is a peak incidence in working-aged adults, but it also depends on the type of stone that is deposited (infection stones occur at the two extremes of life, for example) [2]. The prevalence of nephrolithiasis is higher in males, but this difference has been decreasing: the disease prevalence in men remained stable over the past decade; on the other hand, a rising trend of nephrolithiasis prevalence was observed among adult women, particularly those younger than 60 year, closing the gender gap in kidney stone disease [3]. Furthermore, a recent article showed that 34.7% of United Stated stone-formers are people with disabilities (PWD), and the prevalence of nephrolithiasis in PWD is 16.1% (more than the average) [4]. Therefore, primary care physicians need to be aware of the growing importance of nephrolithiasis and its possible consequences to decide on the best diagnostic and therapeutic approach or the eventual need for referral to a urologist.