How is Kidney Stone Diagnosed

Kidney stone, as we can understand, refers to that a stone develops within the kidneys. The kidneys are where stones can develop. Kidney stones can result from many factors such as infections, environmental factors, improper diet, certain medications, etc. Kidney stones can be divided into several types divided by the main composition of the stones. When kidney stone is suspected or a person poses symptoms of kidney stone, the first step is to do full series of lab tests to make a clear diagnosis.

The purpose of diagnosis tests should include whether a patient has kidney stone, the number of stones, stone location, its compositions, whether there are complications and the inducing causes of stones. Because kidney stones can be caused by multiple factors, the patient will be firstly asked about the profession, diet or drinking habits, drug history and if the person has ever experienced gout, primary hyperparathyroidism, etc.

B-ultrasound and urinary tract X-ray test will provide whether a person has kidney stone, the location, size and numbers of renal stones, whether there is combined hydronephrosis, etc. Presence of bright spots on abdomen can be seen in case of renal tuberculosis, renal tumors, vascular tumors, gallstone, lymph node calcification, etc. In those cases a further CT testing will be done.

Blood and urine testing will help to analyze the compositions of the kidney stones. In addition, questions need to be answered by the patients also include the following aspects:

1. Your eating habits, diet and intake of water. Improper diet can cause kidney stones. For instance, the occurrence of uric acid stones are associated to eating excessive fat and lipid content foods such as animal viscera, seafoods, mutton, beef, soup, nutlets, etc. Drinking sufficient water will help to reduce occurrence of kidney stones.

2. What kinds of medicines have you used recently? That’s because some medicines can cause abnormal metabolism and result in hypercalciuria, hyperoxaluria or high uric acid in urine.

3. Whether you have experienced urinary tract infections (UTI) recently? Some bacteria, such as Urease bacteria, can cause formation of magnesium ammonium phosphate stones.

4. Whether you have primary hyperparathyroidism, renal tubular acidosis (RTA), Gout, Sarcoidosis, etc which can lead to urolithiasis.

5. About heredity. Family history of cystine in urine and absorptive hypercalciuria are associated to increased risks of kidney stones.

6. To confirm one has conditions that can cause urinary tract obstructions, such as ureteropelvic junction obstruction, horseshoe kidney, prostatic hyperplasia, narrowing in urinary tract, etc.

7. Surgery history. Bowel resection can cause diarrhea, hyperoxaluria and low citrate in urine thus likely causing kidney stones.

Your physical signs will also be examined by doctors. In moderate cases, kidney stones may don’t pose symptoms. Common symptoms of kidney stones mainly include blood in urine, hydronephrosis, fever, urinary tract infections, waist colic, etc. With a kidney stone, seek doctors’ advice for proper dietary modifications. The target of timely and positive treatment is to keep urinary tract smooth and reduce risks in damaging the kidneys.