Epidemiology and medical management of stone disease.

Recurrent stone formation in the urinary tract is a common and important problem that must be considered in daily urological practice. With a prevalence of> 10% and an expected recurrence rate of approximately 50%, stone disease has an important effect on the healthcare system. It is generally agreed that patients with uric acid/urate, cystine or infection stones always should be treated pharmacologically. For calcium stone formers the treatment should be chosen according to the severity of the disease. Recurrence in patients with calcium-stone disease can be prevented with general or specific dietary and drinking advice, and with pharmacological therapy. For idiopathic calcium stone formers the most convincing therapeutic effects have been reported with thiazide and alkaline citrate.