[Etiopathogenesis and clinical aspects of nephrolithiasis--at present]

This paper deals of kidney stones, hard concretions that grow within the urinary tract, 71.5% of which have calcium contents. A high rate of recurrences underscores the importance of medical prevention with a variety of conservative (increased fluid intake and dietary modifications) and drug therapy (potassium citrate, potassium magnesium citrate, thiazides, allopurinol). In single stone formers and mild recurrent diseases, the conservative therapy may alone be effective and should be maintained in more severe recurrent disease, together with drug treatment. In particular, in idiopathic calcium oxalate nephrolithiasis, the importance of sodium restriction in the diet, that should reduce calcium excretion, has been recently shown, limiting the old assumption of the value of dietary calcium restriction; in fact normal or higher calcium intake, binding oxalate in the intestinal tract, seems to confer protection against stone formation. The urologic approach to urolithiasis has changed with the introduction of extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL), a technique that allows a relatively noninvasive removal of stones. Nevertheless ESWL does not change the propensity of recurrence of stone formers, and the importance of medical prevention remains paramount in the management of renal stone disease.