Discrepancy Between Stone and Tissue Mineral Type in Patients with Idiopathic Uric Acid Stones.

Objectives: To describe the papillary pathology found in uric acid (UA) stone formers, and to investigate the mineral form of tissue deposits. Materials and Methods: We studied eight UA stone formers treated with percutaneous nephrolithotomy. Papillae were imaged intraoperatively using digital endoscopy, and cortical and papillary biopsies were taken. Biopsies were analyzed by light microscopy, micro-CT, and microinfrared spectroscopy. Results: As expected, urine pH was generally low. UA supersaturation exceeded one in all but one case, compatible with the stone material. By intraoperative imaging, the renal papillae displayed a heterogeneous mixture of plaque and plugging, ranging from normal to severe. All patients had mineral in ducts of Bellini and inner medullary collecting ducts, mainly apatite with lesser amounts of urate and/or calcium oxalate in some specimens. Papillary and cortical interstitial tissue injury was modest despite the tubule plugging. No instance was found of a stone growing attached to either plaque or plugs. Conclusions: UA stone formers resemble those with ileostomy in having rather low urine pH while forming tubule plugs that contain crystals that can only form at pH values above those of their bulk urine. This discrepancy between tissue mineral deposits and stone type suggests that local tubular pH exceeds that of the bulk urine, perhaps because of localized tubule injury. The manner in which UA stones form and the discordance between tubule crystals and stone type remain open research questions.

Renal histopathology and crystal deposits in patients with small bowel resection and calcium oxalate stone disease.

We present here the anatomy and histopathology of kidneys from 11 patients with renal stones following small bowel resection, including 10 with Crohn's disease and 1 resection in infancy for unknown cause. They presented predominantly with calcium oxalate stones. Risks of formation included hyperoxaluria (urine oxalate excretion greater than 45 mg per day) in half of the cases, and acidic urine of reduced volume. As was found with ileostomy and obesity bypass, inner medullary collecting ducts (IMCDs) contained crystal deposits associated with cell injury, interstitial inflammation, and papillary deformity. Cortical changes included modest glomerular sclerosis, tubular atrophy, and interstitial fibrosis. Randall's plaque (interstitial papillary apatite) was abundant, with calcium oxalate stone overgrowth similar to that seen in ileostomy, idiopathic calcium oxalate stone formers, and primary hyperparathyroidism. Abundant plaque was compatible with the low urine volume and pH. The IMCD deposits all contained apatite, with calcium oxalate present in three cases, similar to findings in patients with obesity bypass but not an ileostomy. The mechanisms for calcium oxalate stone formation in IMCDs include elevated urine and presumably tubule fluid calcium oxalate supersaturation, but a low calcium to oxalate ratio. However, the mechanisms for the presence of IMCD apatite remain unknown.