Update on nephrolithiasis: beyond symptomatic urinary tract obstruction.

Nephrolithiasis research and care have been focused on biochemical changes in urinary solute excretion leading to stone formation, but abnormalities in urine chemistry alone do not explain many aspects of the condition of patients with kidney stone disease. Evidence exists of an association with metabolic syndrome, obesity, diabetes and hypertension, and of enhanced risk of chronic kidney disease and metabolic bone disease. Very recently also a higher risk of cardiovascular events and damage has been reported in kidney stone formers when compared with non-stone formers. It is time to view nephrolithiasis as a condition predictive of chronic kidney disease and cardiovascular damage, which deserves full metabolic evaluation together with an early prevention care strategy, mainly consisting of dietary and lifestyle changes, in a multidisciplinary approach. Kidney stone disease should be considered as a systemic disorder with clinical relevance beyond symptomatic urinary tract obstruction.