[Long ureteral ammonium-magnesium phosphate (struvite) and calcium phospho-carbonate calculi]

The authors report about 12 cases of long ureteral calculi, 16 to 39 mm in size, observed over 10 years. They were all made of a mixture of ammonium-magnesium phosphate and calcium phosphocarbonate. Infection was the revealing symptom, either in the form of simple bacteriuria or as acute pyelonephritis or sepsis. These calculi, found in a lumbar or pelvic location, were very long, radiopaque but with a moderate radiological density, homogeneous and have regular contours. They were straight, sometimes slightly bent, rarely (one case out of 12) arciform. In 11 of 12 cases, the affected patient was female. In most cases, the urine was infected by Proteus mirabilis. In spite of their size, the calculi caused total obstruction in 3 of 12 cases only. They were or were not associated to ipsilateral coral calculi of the same chemical type. Destruction was easily achieved with physical agents. The etiological, radiological and therapeutic characteristics of these calculi give them a specific place among ammonium-magnesium phosphate calculi.