Is urolithiasis the same as kidney stones?

Kidney stones (also called renal calculi, nephrolithiasis or urolithiasis) are hard deposits made of minerals and salts that form inside your kidneys. Diet, excess body weight, some medical conditions, and certain supplements and medications are among the many causes of kidney stones.

What is meant by renal colic?

Renal colic is a type of pain you get when urinary stones block part of your urinary tract. Your urinary tract includes your kidneys, ureters, bladder, and urethra. You can get stones anywhere in your urinary tract.

How is Ureterolithiasis treated?

A urologist can remove the kidney stone or break it into small pieces with the following treatments:

1. Shock wave lithotripsy. The doctor can use shock wave lithotripsy link to blast the kidney stone into small pieces.
2. Cystoscopy and ureteroscopy.
3. Percutaneous nephrolithotomy.

What is ureteral urolithiasis?

Kidney stones (also called renal lithiasis) and ureteral stones (kidney stones that have moved to the ureters) are both a type of stone disease, otherwise known as urolithiasis. Stone disease is the most common type of urological disorder and is thought to be the most painful.

What causes renal colic?

Renal colic is caused by dilation of the renal pelvis and ureteral segments. While usually colic is from an acute obstruction such as a ureteral calculus, it may also be due to a variety of other problems and disorders such as from ureteral spasms immediately after double J stent removal or ureteroscopy.

What does renal colic feel like?

Symptoms of renal colic include pain, especially in the back, side or groin; blood in the urine; abnormally colored urine; fever; chills; and nausea with or without vomiting. Some have described renal colic as the most intense painful experience encountered in life.

What are the complications of urolithiasis?

Complications include acute renal failure secondary to obstruction, anuria, urinary tract infection with renal obstruction, and sepsis.

How is urolithiasis diagnosed?

Imaging tests may show kidney stones in your urinary tract. High-speed or dual energy computerized tomography (CT) may reveal even tiny stones. Simple abdominal X-rays are used less frequently because this kind of imaging test can miss small kidney stones.

How do you manage renal colic pain?

Immediate intervention with analgesia and antiemetics. NSAIDs and opiates are first-line therapies for analgesia. NSAIDs work in two ways in renal colic. First, NSAIDs decrease the production of arachidonic acid metabolites, which mediate pain receptors, alleviating pain caused by distension of the renal capsule.

Is renal colic an emergency?

Patients with red flags should be referred for emergency treatment immediately. However, patients with an uncomplicated presentation of renal colic can often be managed in primary care, following prompt referral for imaging to confirm the diagnosis (same-day if possible).