Assessment of crystallization risk formulas in pediatric calcium stone-formers

The pathogenesis of calcium urolithiasis involves complex interactions of urinary promoters and inhibitors of crystallization. A variety of risk formulas have been established to approximate these interactions for clinical evaluation, and the aim of our study was to determine their usefulness as predictors of stone formation. The study cohort comprised 126 patients (63 boys and 63 girls) aged 6.7-18 years (mean age 14.1 +/- 2.9 years) with calcium urolithiasis (61 with chemically confirmed calcium oxalate stones and 65 children with a strong clinical suspicion of this type of urolithiasis). Of these, 36 children were classified as recurrent stone-formers, whereas the remaining 90 had experienced only one stone episode. The values obtained were compared to those of a control group of 60 age- and gender- matched healthy children. A number of crystallization risk indices were calculated from analytes obtained in 24-h urine: calcium/magnesium ratio (Ca/Mg), calcium/citrate ratio (Ca/Cit), (calcium x oxalate)/(magnesium x citrate) ratio (CaOx/MgCit), relative urinary CaOx supersaturation (RS(CaOx)), CaOx activity product index (AP(CaOx)), and standardized CaOx activity product index (AP(CaOx stand)). All indices, except for the AP(CaOx) index, were significantly higher in stone-formers than in the controls. The Ca/Mg, Ca/Cit, CaOx/MgCit, AP(CaOx), and AP(CaOx stand) indices were significantly higher in recurrent stone-formers than in first-episode ones. However, the determination of precise cutoffs between pathological and non-pathological values was problematic due to a considerable overlap of individual values. Based on our results, we conclude that calculation of the majority of risk indices may play a rather supplementary role in the evaluation of children with calcium urolithiasis.