What is Kidney stones?

Contents

Kidney stones: Introduction
Types of Kidney stones
Prognosis
Prevalence
Other names for Kidney stones
Who gets Kidney stones?
What causes Kidney stones?
What are the symptoms of Kidney stones?
Organs Affected by Kidney stones
How is it treated?
Society issues for Kidney stones
Kidney stones: Introduction

What is Kidney stones?

Kidney stones are small bits of hard crystallized material that form in the kidney. The human body has two kidneys. ...more »

Kidney stones: Kidney stones are solid deposits of salts (e.g calcium) from the urine. These deposits can impair the passage of urine that has the potential to result in infection and kidney damage or failure in severe cases.
Kidney stones: Calculi occurring in the kidney. Calculi too large to pass spontaneously range in size from 1 cm to the staghorn stones that occupy the renal pelvis and calyces.
Source - Diseases Database
Kidney stones: the presence of kidney stones (calculi) in the kidney.
Source - WordNet 2.1

Kidney stones: Introduction

Types of Kidney stones:

Types of Kidney stones:

Calcium stone - most common type
Struvite - infection stone
Uric acid stone
Cystine stone
Ureteral stone
Silent kidney stones - causing no symptoms
more types...»

Broader types of Kidney stones:

How many people get Kidney stones?

Incidence (annual) of Kidney stones: more than 1 million cases (1996, NIDDK)
Incidence Rate of Kidney stones: approx 1 in 272 or 0.37% or 1 million people in USA [about data]
Lifetime risk of Kidney stones: estimated 10% lifetime risk of kidney stones
Prevalance of Kidney stones: Unfortunately, kidney stones are one of the most common disorders of the urinary tract; more than 1 million cases were diagnosed in 1996. An estimated 10 percent of people in the United States will have a kidney stone at some point in their lives. (Source: excerpt from Kidney Stones in Adults: NIDDK)
Incidence of Kidney stones: More than 1 million cases of kidney stones were diagnosed in 1985. (Source: excerpt from Kidney Stones: NWHIC)

Who gets Kidney stones?

Patient Profile for Kidney stones: Typically adults over 30

Profile for Kidney stones: Men tend to be affected more frequently than women. (Source: excerpt from Kidney Stones in Adults: NIDDK) ... White Americans are more prone to develop kidney stones than African Americans. Stones occur more frequently in men. Kidney stones strike most typically between the ages of 20 and 40. Once a person gets more than one stone, others are likely to develop. (Source: excerpt from Kidney Stones in Adults: NIDDK) ... Kidney stones strike most people people between the ages of 20 and 40. (Source: excerpt from Kidney Stones: NWHIC)

Gender Profile for Kidney stones: More men than women

How serious is Kidney stones?

Complications of Kidney stones: see complications of Kidney stones
Prognosis of Kidney stones: Most kidney stones pass out of the body without any intervention by a physician. Cases that cause lasting symptoms or other complications may be treated by various techniques, most of which do not involve major surgery. (Source: excerpt from Kidney Stones: NWHIC)

What causes Kidney stones?

Causes of Kidney stones: see causes of Kidney stones
Causes of Kidney stones: Doctors do not always know what causes a stone to form. While certain foods may promote stone formation in people who are susceptible, scientists do not believe that eating any specific food causes stones to form in people who are not susceptible. (Source: excerpt from Kidney Stones in Adults: NIDDK)
Risk factors for Kidney stones: see risk factors for Kidney stones

What are the symptoms of Kidney stones?

Symptoms of Kidney stones: see symptoms of Kidney stones

Complications of Kidney stones: see complications of Kidney stones

Kidney stones: Testing

Diagnostic testing: see tests for Kidney stones.

Misdiagnosis: see misdiagnosis and Kidney stones.

How is it treated?

Treatments for Kidney stones: see treatments for Kidney stones
Alternative treatments for Kidney stones: see alternative treatments for Kidney stones
Prevention of Kidney stones: see prevention of Kidney stones
Research for Kidney stones: see research for Kidney stones

Society issues for Kidney stones

Costs of Kidney stones: $1.83 billion was spent on indirectly and directly on the evaluation and treatment of kidney stones in the US 1993 (Weighted Analysis of 1999 NAMCS, 2003, NIDDK)

Hospitalization statistics for Kidney stones: The following are statistics from various sources about hospitalizations and Kidney stones:

0.45% (56,987) of hospital episodes were for urolithiasis in England 2002-03 (Hospital Episode Statistics, Department of Health, England, 2002-03)
90% of hospital consultations for urolithiasis required hospital admission in England 2002-03 (Hospital Episode Statistics, Department of Health, England, 2002-03)
71% of hospital episodes for urolithiasis were for men in England 2002-03 (Hospital Episode Statistics, Department of Health, England, 2002-03)
29% of hospital episodes for urolithiasis were for women in England 2002-03 (Hospital Episode Statistics, Department of Health, England, 2002-03)
more statistics...»

Physician office visits for Kidney stones: 2.2 million visits were made to physician offices regarding kidney stones in the US 2000 (Weighted Analysis of 2000 NAMCS, 2003, NIDDK)

Organs Affected by Kidney stones:

Organs and body systems related to Kidney stones include:

Kidney

Name and Aliases of Kidney stones

Main name of condition: Kidney stones

Other names or spellings for Kidney stones:

renal calcifications, renal calcifications (kidney stones), renal stones, Urolithiasis, urinary tract stone disease, nephrolithiasis, Renal calculi, Renal calculus

Renal stones, Urolithiasis, Nephrolithiasis Source - Diseases Database

Renal lithiasis
Source - WordNet 2.1