Physicochemical background for ambiguity of clinical recommendations in treating phosphate nephrolithiasis

Efficiency of clinical recommendations for curing and prevention of phosphate nephrolithiasis founded on physicochemical investigations is unexpectedly low and apparently did not exceed 50%. We tried to consider possible physicochemical causes of this fact. For this purpose the influence of changes of urine pH and of calcium, phosphate and complexon concentrations on the probability of different precipitation phases of solid calcium phosphate has been reviewed. The importance of tendencies of changing the urine dynamic physicochemical parameters such as the precipitation induction period and the amplitude of urine pH variations in time has been shown. It was established that the probability of the existence of Ca3(PO4)2, Ca8H2(PO4)6.5H2O, CaHPO4.2 H2O and MgNH4PO4.6 H2O in urine depends on the time of its transition from the supersoluble state and is determined in the final analysis by the relationship of formation rates and solid phase dissolution rates. This was verified by experiments and by data obtained in the clinical laboratory.