ABSTRACT
Background: Renal stone is a major health problem with adverse medico-economic consequences. It cost the healthcare services a great deal of money without reaching any desired destiny
Objective: To describe the current prevalence, risk factors, manifestations, methods of diagnosis and treatment of renal stones in Arar city, Northern Saudi Arabia
Method: Cross-sectional community based on survey applied to the adult of the general population of Arar city during the period from June to October 2017. The statistical significance level is made at less than 0.05
Results: Among 470 participants, 57.7% male and 42.3% females, 23% had renal gravel, 13% had renal stones. Only 15% complained from recurrent renal colic and 28% had family history of renal stones or gravels. Among the found cases of renal stones, 39.7% had family history of renal stones [P<0.05], 30% had other chronic diseases, 67% have renal gravels [P<0.05] and more than half [55.2%] of them had recurrent renal colic [P<0.05] and 39.9% were obese [P<0.05]. The most common symptom is renal colic as it appear in 55% of cases and 82% of affected people are diagnosed by complete urine analysis and ultrasound examination. The most common type is oxalate stone 55.2%, uric acid stones 27.6% and mixed stones 17.2%. More than half [55.2%] of renal stones are small in size and 46% found in the kidney. Most [84%] of the cases get herbal treatment, 89% medical treatment and only 8.6% got surgical treatment but 46% had recurrent stones
Conclusion: The prevalence of renal calculi and associated renal colic in Arar city, Northern is considerable. Suggestions for health education about risk factors in addition to future researches are mandatory
ABSTRACT
Objective: Occupational exposure to liberated fumes and gases during welding process could be hazardous to the kidneys. The objective of this study was to screen and identify associated factors for renal dysfunction in arc welders. Methods: A cross-sectional study conducted in 36 arc welders selected by simple random sampling from a sampling frame of registered arc welders in Egor local government area in Benin city. Twenty-two consenting age-matched controls were recruited from the maintenance department of University of Benin Teaching Hospital, Benin city. A proforma was used to obtain vital clinical information and participants’ blood and urine samples were collected for biochemical analysis. Results: There was no significant difference in the mean age, body mass index, blood pressure reading, serum creatinine, eGFR, lipid profile between the arc welders and controls. However, proteinuria was significantly commoner in the arc welders compared to controls (p<.001). Likewise, the fasting blood glucose level was also significantly higher in the arc welders compared to controls (135.93±53.92 mg/dL in welders, 97.67±29.28 mg/dL in controls, p =.01). The majority of the arc welders (66.7%) had chronic kidney diseases (CKD) stage 1 compared to 54.6% of the controls. However, a little below half of the control had CKD stage 2. About 11% of the arc welders had CKD stage 3 while none of the controls had CKD stage 3. Conclusion: Proteinuria, a useful indicator of CKD is commoner among the arc welders compared to the apparently healthy controls. Therefore, there is a need to create awareness among arc welders for early CKD screening in view of the occupational exposure to toxic metals.