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Questions posted in the
The Urology Forum have been answered by urologists from Henry Ford Health System and by Dr. Kevin Pho.
Question Title: Calcium-Oxalate Crystals in Urine???Forum: The Urology Forum
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| I am 25 years old and what appears have suffered another passing of a stone....IVP was negative.....i was woken up by horrible spams to my right flank area with no radiation....very strong intermittent spasms which lasted about 1 hour.....after the spasms no residual effects for about 2-3 days.....urinalysis showed RBC>200 under microscope with 3+ blood on dipstick...now, one week later, it seems i have a urinary tract infection...being i am 25 and a young man, isnt this unusual?? Or possibly i could have damaged the ureter from a jagged edge of a stone when it passed?? Would that attribute to all the RBC in urine....Is it common to suffer post-renal stone UTI's?? In men? Also, being that calcium oxalate crystals were found in my urine under high-power microscope, do you think that i actually passed a stone and that i am prone to these type stones?? Thanks for your professional advice....... -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From what you are saying, I am assuming that you have a history of passing kidney stones. Once you have developed (or passed) one kidney stone, you will have an approximately 50% increased risk of developing another kidney stone. After developing a second stone, the risk for development of a third stone increases to approximately 85%, and on and on. Calcium oxalate crystals will usually be found in the urine of individuals who are “stone formers”. These crystals may or may not go to form kidney stones, depending on how well hydrated you are, etc. Once a kidney stone develops, it is natural to see microhematuria ( blood cells in the urine detected on urinalysis and not the naked eye) or gross hematuria as the stone passes through the urinary tract. There may be some degree of hematuria at any stage when a stone is in the urinary tract, and even after passing the stone ( presumably up to a week) due to the local damage caused by passage of the stone. You are stating that you have now developed a urinary tract infection (UTI). On what basis did you come up with this diagnosis? Urine culture? Microscopic hematuria is not necessarily a sign of a urinary tract infection, and although a urinalysis may hint towards a UTI, a culture is the only way to know for sure. You do not mention anything about a urine culture, and therefore, I assume that one was not done and perhaps you never had a UTI. Although it is possible to develop a UTI in the presence of an infectious stone (if the stone is still present), it would be one of the rare causes of a UTI in a young male. If a stone is completely obstructing the urine flow, there is a possibility that the obstructed urine may become infected and pus (purulent urine) forms proximal to the stone. However, patients with such a condition become extremely sick (with fevers, chills, etc.) which I don’t think appears to be your problem at this time. I hope this information is useful to you, and wish you the best. This information is provided for general medical education purposes only. Please consult your physician for diagnostic and treatment options pertaining to your specific medical condition. More individualized care is available at the Henry Ford Hospital and its satellites (1 800 653 6568). Sincerely,
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