Urinary Tract Calculi-a Comparison of Chemical and Crystallographic Analyses

Abstract

SUMMARY The composition of 85 calculi has been determined by simeple chemical and the x‐ray power method. When the limitations of both methods are taken into account, the gagreement between the two sets of results is very good.

Renal geology (quantitative renal stone analysis) by ‘Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy’

“…Though infrared spectroscopy originated as early as 1976 [13] it has gained in popularity as a reliable method of in-vitro quantitative stone analysis only in the last decade. Literature surveys also reveal that methods like thermogravimetric [25] and chemical/crystallographic [26] stone analysis over the last three decades have gradually lost their steam and have become more or less obsolete for the purpose of reliable quantitative urinary stone analysis. While the diagnostic reliability of these newer tests has been confirmed by several studies [13,[20][21][22][23][24], the utility of FT-IRS as a routine screening test is also established.…”

“…The quantitative stone analysis by FT-IRS also allows accurate separate zonewise analysis of the stone nucleus, external and internal layers not possible by other methods, and is not prone to errors of judgment unlike the conventional qualitative wet methods of stone analysis [13] ( Tables 1, 2). Table 3 shows a summary of the comparative assessment of the various methods of stone analysis methods being that have been published in the English literature up to now [13,[20][21][22][23][24][25][26]. It may be inferred that any of these methods is only as good as the sample used, and different areas of the calculus must be analyzed separately if useful results are to be obtained, particularly with regard to the spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction method of stone analysis [24].…”

A Review of Pathological Biomineral Analysis Techniques and Classification Schemes

“…Some of the basic principles (Sutor et al, 1971) of this kind of analysis are the follows: Unfortunately, chemical methods are destructive and need several milligrams of the sample, so small stones cannot be analyzed with chemical methods.…”