Modern Concepts of Ureteral Calculi

Urinary lithiasis in the black population: an epidemiological study and review of the literature

A retrospective review of 199 black patients with urinary calculi and review of the census figures of the index hospitals revealed that white patients had urinary calculi 3 to 4 times as often as black subjects. The black male-to-female ratio was 1 to 1.55 compared to a ratio for white patients of 2.3 to 1. Calculi in black male subjects occur at a younger age than in black or white female or white male patients. The most common organisms cultured in black patients with stones were Escherichia coli and Proteus mirabilis. In contrast to the white population the most common type of stone formed in black patients was struvite/carbonate apatite. Stones of this type accounted for a third of all stones in male and 44 per cent in female subjects. We conclude that nephrolithiasis is an uncommon but not rare disease in the American black population.

The management of ureteral stone; a guide for physicians in general practice

General practitioners are usually the first to observe a patient with ureteral stone, and often they practice in communities where consultation with a urologist is not immediately available. Study of the records of 423 patients with ureteral stone observed in private practice indicates that by following a definite system for diagnosis, relief of pain, determination of contralateral function, control of infection, and prophylaxis, general practitioners can manage the disease in the great majority of cases, and can determine when treatment by a specialist is imperative.