Clinical and laboratory approaches for evaluation of nephrolithiasis

The initial part of this presentation deals with the sensitivity of tests commonly used in the diagnosis of primary hyperparathyroidism. Total serum calcium levels often are normal in patients with small parathyroid adenomas but levels of serum ultrafilterable and/or ionized calcium usually are elevated in these patients. The recent introduction of improved radioimmunoassays for measurement of circulating parathyroid hormone has led to greatly improved sensitivity of this test for the diagnosis of primary hyperparathyroidism. However, measurement of total urinary cyclic adenosine monophosphate, even when expressed as a function of glomerular filtration rate, is an extremely insensitive test in patients who have parathyroid adenomas weighing less than 1 gm. Consequently, this test no longer is used for diagnostic purposes in our laboratory. Data relating to the prevalence and causes of hyperoxaluria in patients with idiopathic calcium oxalate stones also are presented. Hyperoxaluria (more than 450 mumol. per 24 hours) was found in 21 of 99 consecutive untreated male patients. Approximately a third of the patients with high normal or increased urinary oxalate excretion also have increased urinary glycolate excretion, which is indicative of increased endogenous oxalate production. This metabolic abnormality was unresponsive to pyridoxine administration but preliminary findings suggest that it may be corrected by restricting dietary protein.