Prevalence and Importance of Urea-Splitting Bacterial Infections of the Urinary Tract in the Formation of Calculi

Abstract

The urine in cases of urea-splitting infections is usually alkaline; the stones are predominantly Ca phosphate and have a marked tendency to recur. Sterile urines are generally acid; the stones in most cases are composed of oxalate or uric acid. The no. of cases in which urea-splitting bacteria were the apparent cause of the stone formation comprised 54% of the total cases of stone (90) and 74% of all infected cases (66). The avg. no. of recurrences was 73% in the urea-splitting cases (49), 23% in non-urea-splitting infections and 29% in cases with sterile urines. The urea-splitting infections are doubtless associated with the most frequent, active and stubborn stone formation known.