Uric acid stones following hepatic transplantation

We report the case of a 52 year old man with a history of insulin-requiring diabetes and hepatitis B with cirrhosis who received an orthotopic liver transplant. One year later he developed renal colic and was found to have a 3 mm stone at the left ureterovesical junction. Numerous other stones formed and infrared spectroscopy analysis demonstrated all to be composed of 100% uric acid. Urine collections demonstrated a low urine pH of 5.1 without hyperuricosuria. His stones were effectively prevented with potassium citrate therapy. Few incidence data are available for uric acid stone occurrence in solid organ recipients. Calcineurin inhibitors are thought to often cause hyperuricemia on the basis of decreased urate excretion. However, this effect would not be expected to cause hyperuricosuria nor uric acid stones. This class of drugs may also be associated with low urine pH, perhaps on the basis of hypoaldosteronism, but the contribution of such a syndrome to uric acid stone formation is not established.