Urolithiasis in geriatric patients.

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: We intended to find risk factors for urolitiasis and its recurrence in a geriatric population. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The medical records of 209 elderly stone patients over age 65 were reviewed. They had been regularly seen at our stone clinic for a mean follow-up period of 1385 +/- 1324 days after urolithiasis was diagnosed. RESULTS: The elderly population comprised 9.6 % of all the stone patients followed at the stone clinic. Regarding stone compositions, calcium oxalate and calcium phosphate were most common in the elderly patients (80 %). The incidence of uric acid stones was higher in the elderly patient group than in the younger group (10.7 % vs. 5.1 %; p = 0.0046). Recurrent stones were seen in 18 of the 207 geriatric patients (15.4 %) during the follow-up period. The urinary calcium excretion of the recurrent stone patients was significantly higher than in those without recurrence (293 +/- 138 mg vs. 177 +/- 98 mg/day, p = 0.0035). However, the probability of stone recurrence estimated by Kaplan-Meier curves was as equivalent in the elderly patient group as in the younger group. CONCLUSIONS: Hypercalciuria may also play a part in stone recurrence of geriatric patients.