• Home

Home > Medical Reference > Encyclopedia (English)

Toggle: English / Spanish

Kidney stones

• Overview
• Symptoms
• Treatment
• Prevention

Alternative Names:

Renal calculi; Nephrolithiasis; Stones - kidney

Symptoms:

• Flank pain or back pain
  • on one or both sides
  • progressive
  • severe
  • colicky (spasm-like)
  • may radiate or move to lower in flank, pelvis, groin, genitals
• Nausea , vomiting
• Urinary frequency/urgency, increased (persistent urge to urinate)
• Blood in the urine
• Abdominal pain
• Painful urination
• Excessive urination at night
• Urinary hesitancy
• Testicle pain
• Groin pain
• Fever
• Chills
• Abnormal urine color

Signs and tests:

Pain may be severe enough to require narcotics. There may be tenderness when the abdomen or back is touched. If stones are severe, persistent, or come back again and again, there may be signs of kidney failure.

• Straining the urine may capture urinary tract stones when they are excreted.
• Analysis of the stone shows the type of stone.
• Urinalysis may show crystals and red blood cells in urine .
• Uric acid elevated

Stones or obstruction of the ureter may be seen on:

• Kidney ultrasound
• IVP ( intravenous pyelogram )
• Abdominal x-rays
• Retrograde pyelogram
• Abdominal CT scan
• Abdominal/kidney MRI

Tests may reveal high levels of calcium in the blood or urine.

• Review Date: 9/13/2005
• Reviewed By: Robert Mushnick, M.D., Assistant Clinical Professor, SUNY Downstate Health Center, Brooklyn, NY. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.

A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org). URAC's accreditation program is the first of its kind, requiring compliance with 53 standards of quality and accountability, verified by independent audit. A.D.A.M. is among the first to achieve this important distinction for online health information and services. Learn more about A.D.A.M.'s editorial process . A.D.A.M. is also a founding member of Hi-Ethics (www.hiethics.com) and subscribes to the principles of the Health on the Net Foundation (www.hon.ch).

The information provided herein should not be used during any medical emergency or for the diagnosis or treatment of any medical condition. A licensed physician should be consulted for diagnosis and treatment of any and all medical conditions. Call 911 for all medical emergencies. Links to other sites are provided for information only -- they do not constitute endorsements of those other sites. Copyright 1997-2007 A.D.A.M., Inc. Any duplication or distribution of the information contained herein is strictly prohibited.