Background. Despite being a clean-contaminated procedure, performed only in patients with sterile urine preoperatively, percutaneous nephrolithotripsy (PCNL) is associated with significant infectious perioperative complications. A local antibiogram is of paramount importance in optimizing antibiotic prophylaxis in PCNL because of the substantial variation in bacterial distribution and antibiotic sensitivity worldwide.

Objectives. The incidence of post-PCNL infectious complications, microorganism distribution, and antibiotic sensitivities from patients admitted for PCNL was determined. The risk factors associated with positive cultures and the development of fever and bacteremia were also analyzed.

Methods. A retrospective study of 102 patients who underwent PCNL under a surveillance protocol was done. The susceptibility of isolates from different specimens was evaluated against the most common antibiotics in the hospital. Chi-square and Student's t-test were used to determine differences in the frequencies and means for other risk factors for those who developed fever and urosepsis and those who did not.

Results. The incidence of fever and urosepsis was 25% and 4%, respectively. The most common organism on urine specimens was Escherichia coli which showed high sensitivity to aminoglycosides. The most common isolate on stones was Pseudomonas aeruginosa, which showed higher sensitivities to the fluoroquinolones. The isolates showed nearly consistent resistance to ceftriaxone. No significant association was found between the clinical variables studied and the occurrence of infectious complications.

Conclusion. There are comparable rates of infectious complications to published literature. A change in antibiotic prophylaxis was warranted, given the high resistance to ceftriaxone and the predominance of Pseudomonas aeruginosa on stone isolates. Further surveillance is required to identify significant risk factors for the development of post-PCNL infectious complications.

The incidence of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is increasing rapidly and extra-intestinal manifestations in IBD are also increasing. The prevalence of renal and urinary involvement in IBD ranges from 4–23%. Nephrolithiasis is the most common urinary complication in IBD patients. Parenchymal renal disease is rare but has been well documented and presents most commonly as glomerulonephritis or tubulointerstitial nephritis. The overall morbidity of IBD-related renal manifestations is significant. Therefore, a high index of clinical suspicion and optimal monitoring of the renal function are needed for the early diagnosis and prevention of IBD-related renal manifestations and complications.
Early Diagnosis ; Glomerulonephritis ; Humans ; Incidence ; Inflammatory Bowel Diseases ; Kidney ; Nephritis, Interstitial ; Nephrolithiasis ; Prevalence

The incidence of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is increasing rapidly and extra-intestinal manifestations in IBD are also increasing. The prevalence of renal and urinary involvement in IBD ranges from 4–23%. Nephrolithiasis is the most common urinary complication in IBD patients. Parenchymal renal disease is rare but has been well documented and presents most commonly as glomerulonephritis or tubulointerstitial nephritis. The overall morbidity of IBD-related renal manifestations is significant. Therefore, a high index of clinical suspicion and optimal monitoring of the renal function are needed for the early diagnosis and prevention of IBD-related renal manifestations and complications.
Early Diagnosis ; Glomerulonephritis ; Humans ; Incidence ; Inflammatory Bowel Diseases ; Kidney ; Nephritis, Interstitial ; Nephrolithiasis ; Prevalence

A fistula between the renal pelvis and duodenum (pyeloduodenal fistula) is very rare. It can occur spontaneously or after trauma to one of these organs. A spontaneous pyeloduodenal fistula is usually caused by chronic inflammation, including reactions to foreign bodies, nephrolithiasis, benign and malignant neoplasms, as well as pyogenic infections. The main treatment to date has been surgery. We encountered one case of pyeloduodenal fistula found during an evaluation for abdominal discomfort in a 39-year-old female. Pyeloduodenal fistula was diagnosed by upper gastrointestinal endoscopy and abdominal computed tomography, and it was caused by direct invasion of nephrolithiasis. Surgical operation was recommended, but the patient refused. The patient has been free of symptoms for four years. Herein, we report an unusual case of pyeloduodenal fistula without surgical management and relevant literature review.
Adult ; Duodenum ; Endoscopy, Gastrointestinal ; Female ; Fistula* ; Foreign Bodies ; Humans ; Inflammation ; Intestinal Fistula ; Kidney ; Kidney Calculi* ; Kidney Pelvis ; Nephrolithiasis

OBJECTIVE: The STONE score was developed to gauge the ureter stone probability. On the other hand, it is unclear if the STONE score is also applicable to Koreans. This study evaluated whether the STONE score can identify patients with suspected nephrolithiasis for whom a computed tomography (CT) scan can be obtained in the emergency department, targeting Koreans. METHODS: Patients presenting to the emergency medicine (ED) with flank pain and a suspicion of a ureter stone between January 2016 and December 2016 were reviewed retrospectively. After calculating the STONE score, the enrolled patients were classified into the low, moderate, high score group. In each group, the prevalence of a ureter stone and other clinical diseases on a CT scan were investigated. RESULTS: Among the 156 patients included in the analysis, 124 (79.5%) had a ureter stone and an alternative diagnosis was made in 12 (7.7%). The prevalence of a ureter stone and alternative diseases in the high score group was 87.7% (71/81) and 4.9% (4/81), respectively. The proportion of patients with nephrolithiasis increased significantly (P < 0.001), but the proportion of patients with other clinical diseases did not decrease significantly across the score groups (P=0.196). The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.711 (95% confidence interval, 0.633–0.780; P=0.001) with a cut off score higher than 8 (sensitivity 82.3%, specificity 50.0%) for the STONE score. CONCLUSION: In this setting, the STONE score had a low specificity and could not accurately assess a ureter stone. More studies aimed at Koreans are warranted before a CT scan can be limited using the STONE score.
Diagnosis ; Emergency Medicine ; Emergency Service, Hospital ; Flank Pain ; Hand ; Humans ; Nephrolithiasis ; Prevalence ; Retrospective Studies* ; ROC Curve ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed ; Ureter* ; Ureteral Calculi

OBJECTIVE: The management of renal stone has changed radically over the recent decades mainly due to increasing use of flexible ureteroscopy. We report our initial experience of retrograde intrarenal surgery (RIRS) in treating renal stones. METHODS: Twenty-five patients (13 males and 12 females) who underwent RIRS for renal stone by a surgen between March 2016 to December 2017 were retrospectively reviewed. We analyzed the patients' age, gender, stone location, stone burden, operative time, hospital stay, double J stent indwelling duration, success rates, and incidence of complications. RESULTS: The mean age of the patients was 54.9 years (range, 29–87 years). The locations of renal stones were nine cases in the renal pelvis, 14 in the renal calyx, and three in the renal diverticulum. The mean body mass index was 25.2 kg/m² (range, 21.2–29.4 kg/m²). After 1 week since initial session, stone free rate was 72%, but 88% at 3-month follow-up. The mean stone burden was 45.7 mm (range, 16.4–189.3 mm), and mean operative time was 95.0 minutes (range, 30–125 minutes). The mean hospital day was 3.5 days (range, 3–6 days). Double J stent was inserted in all patient during operation and mean indwelling duration was 6.96 days (range, 4–14 days). Most common complication was fever and recovered with conservative therapy. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrated that RIRS is safe and effective procedure for management of intrarenal stones with minimal complications. Our study suggests that renal stone burden is significant factor of success rate in RIRS. However, surgical experience and long-term follow-up are needed to confirm the factor of success rate.
Body Mass Index ; Diverticulum ; Fever ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Incidence ; Kidney ; Kidney Pelvis ; Length of Stay ; Male ; Nephrolithiasis ; Operative Time ; Retrospective Studies ; Stents ; Ureteroscopy

BACKGROUND: Unenhanced computed tomography (UCT) may be useful for evaluating acute pyelonephritis; however, no study has compared UCT with enhanced computed tomography (ECT) as a diagnostic tool. We evaluated a clinical usefulness of UCT versus ECT in acute pyelonephritis (APN). METHODS: We reviewed the clinical and radiological data from 183 APN-suspected patients who underwent UCT and ECT simultaneously at emergency room (ER) over a two-year period. Demographic, clinical parameters and computed tomography (CT) parameters of 149 patients were compared. RESULTS: The average patient age was 61.2 (± 10) years: 31 patients were men. Ninety-nine (66.4%) patients showed stones (18.7%), perinephric infiltration (56%), swelling (21%), and hydronephrosis (6.7%) on UCT. Seventeen patients (11.4%) had an atypical clinical course, requiring additional tests for accurate diagnosis. In 7 patients UCT and ECT results did not differ; in 10 patients, the diagnosis changed on ECT. On ECT, 112/149 (75.2%) patients had stones (16.7%), perinephric infiltrations (57%), swelling (21%), and hydronephrosis (6.7%); 62.5% showed parenchymal involvement: 34 (22.8%) patients had no abnormal ECT findings. APN CT findings are similar on stone, perinephric infiltration, swelling and hydronephrosis on both CTs. Twelve patients (8.0%) had an abnormal ECT finding, i.e., low-grade (1 and 2) parenchymal involvement. Six (4%) patients developed contrast-induced acute kidney injury within 2 days after ECT. CONCLUSION: We demonstrate that UCT is not inferior to ECT as an initial tool for evaluating APN for screening nephrolithiasis and hydronephrosis without the risk of contrast-induced acute kidney injury (CIAKI). However, patients with an atypical clinical course may still need ECT.
Acute Kidney Injury ; Diagnosis ; Emergency Service, Hospital ; Humans ; Hydronephrosis ; Male ; Mass Screening ; Nephrolithiasis ; Pyelonephritis*

Up to 19% of men and 10% of women in the United States will form a kidney stone at some time and recurrence rates are as high as 20%–50% after 5 years. In Korea, some studies have shown that the incidence of kidney stones is as high as 30,000 per year, although the incidence has not increased significantly during the last decade. Calcium is very important for bone health, especially after middle age, and it is also an important factor in the formation of stones. Many studies have shown that ingestion of calcium during meals reduces the formation of stones. However, calcium supplements could reduce the risk of stone formations only when taken with meals. In the case of vitamin D, the intake of vitamin D did not increase the risk of stone formation. A large-scaled prospective study is needed.
Calcium ; Calcium, Dietary* ; Eating ; Female ; Humans ; Incidence ; Kidney Calculi ; Korea ; Male ; Meals ; Middle Aged ; Nephrolithiasis ; Prospective Studies ; Recurrence ; United States ; Vitamin D* ; Vitamins*

Cystinuria is an inherited disorder characterized by defective renal reabsorption of cystine and dibasic amino acids leading to nephrolithiasis. This study was conducted to analyze the genotypes and phenotypes of pediatric patients with cystinuria. Eight children from Seoul National University Hospital and Asan Medical Center presenting with cystinuria from January 2003 to June 2016 were retrospectively analyzed. Mutational studies were performed by direct sequencing. Two of the 8 were male and 6 were female. The median ages at onset and diagnosis were 1.5 (range, 0.3–13.6) and 2.6 (range, 0.7–16.7) years, respectively. The median followed up was 7.7 (range, 3.4–14.0) years. Mutational analyses were performed in 7 patients and revealed biallelic SLC3A1 mutations (AA genotype) in 4 patients, a single heterozygous SLC3A1 mutation (A- genotype) in 1 patient, biallelic SLC7A9 mutations (BB genotype) in 1 patient, and a single heterozygous SLC7A9 mutation (B- genotype) in 1 patient. Two of the mutations were novel. No genotype-phenotype correlations were observed, except for earlier onset age in patients with non-AA genotypes than in patients with the AA genotype. All patients suffered from recurrent attacks of symptomatic nephrolithiasis, which lead to urologic interventions. At the last follow-up, 3 patients had a mild-to-moderate degree of renal dysfunction. This is the first study of genotypic and phenotypic analyses of patients with cystinuria in Korea.
Age of Onset ; Amino Acids, Diamino ; Child ; Chungcheongnam-do ; Cystine ; Cystinuria* ; Diagnosis ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Genetic Association Studies ; Genotype* ; Humans ; Korea ; Male ; Nephrolithiasis ; Phenotype* ; Renal Reabsorption ; Retrospective Studies ; Seoul

PURPOSE: Nephrocalcinosis (NC) is frequently observed in premature infants. Small-scale studies have suggested that NC adversely affects renal function; however, the etiologic factors are still unclear. This prospective observational study aimed to identify the factors that influence the development of NC, through urine analysis. METHODS: In total, 99 preterm infants (gestational age <34 weeks) diagnosed with NC in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) from October 2010 to March 2014 were evaluated. Data regarding perinatal characteristics, respiratory support, total parenteral nutrition (TPN), and use of nephrotoxic drugs were analyzed. After an ultrasonographic diagnosis of NC, the infants were subjected to biweekly urine tests along with ultrasonographic follow-ups until the resolution of NC, in the outpatient department. RESULTS: NC was diagnosed in 23% (99/432) of the preterm infants admitted to the NICU. Their median gestational age and birth weight were 28?³ (range:23??-35?²) weeks and 1,120 (range: 560-1,950) g, respectively. NC was diagnosed an average of 26.4±2.8 (range: 2-82) days after birth, and the corrected gestational age at that time was 32.4±2.0 weeks. Preterm infants with NC had hyperoxaluria (oxalate/Cr=4.1 [oxalate/Cr<0.3]), and low urinary citrate levels (citrate/Cr=0.03 [citrate/Cr>0.51]). The follow-up rate was 52% (27/52) and symptoms in none of the infants had progressed to nephrolithiasis. In the infants that were followed up, NC was resolved at a mean age of 7.7 (range: 2-32) months. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that hyperoxaluria is a significant risk factor for the development of NC.
Birth Weight ; Citric Acid ; Diagnosis ; Follow-Up Studies ; Gestational Age ; Humans ; Hyperoxaluria ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn* ; Infant, Premature ; Intensive Care, Neonatal ; Korea* ; Nephrocalcinosis* ; Nephrolithiasis ; Observational Study ; Outpatients ; Parenteral Nutrition, Total ; Parturition ; Prognosis* ; Prospective Studies ; Risk Factors