Poor diagnosis of cystinuria in New South Wales

The case histories of 33 stone-forming cystinurics were analysed with respected to the time taken for the diagnosis of cystinuria to be made. Stone analysis showed that 17 patients were diagnosed at the time of first stone formation, but the other 16 patients were not diagnosed until they had suffered repeated episodes of calculi. There were 25 episodes of renal colic in 14 patients before any stone formation, and there was no case of cystinuria diagnosed as the result of a search for the cause of the renal colic.