Hyperoxaluria occurs when you have too much oxalate in your urine. Oxalate is a natural chemical in your body, and it's also found in certain types of food. But too much oxalate in your urine can cause serious problems.
3. INTRODUCTION:
Hyperoxaluria is a condition that occurs when there is too much
oxalate in your urine.
Kidney stones are usually the first symptom.
The goal of treatment is to lower the level of oxalate in the body and
prevent calcium oxalate crystals from forming in the kidneys and
other body tissues.
Cleveland Clinic reviews types of hyperoxaluria, treatment options,
who to screen for the condition and more.
4. CONT….
Too much oxalate in the body can cause some serious health
problems.
An excess amount of oxalate can combine with calcium in the urine
and cause kidney stones and crystals to form.
Recurrent kidney stones and crystals can damage the kidney and
lead to kidney failure.
Symptoms of hyperoxaluria can develop anytime from infancy to
later adulthood (over 70 years of age).
5. CAUSES:
• Primary hyperoxaluria:
• Genetic (inherited) disorder of the Liver.
• Three subtypes of primary hyperoxaluria, each of which
defect of a different enzyme in the liver and all of which play a
overproduction of oxalate.
• Secondary hyperoxaluria:
• This condition in which excess oxalate is absorbed into the
(GI) tract and then excreted in the urine.
• The reasons for increased absorption can be due to eating
contain high levels of oxalates or having medical conditions
GI tract to absorb more oxalate (such as Crohn’s
bowel disease, gastric bypass and other disorders in which
not properly absorbed).
7. Symptoms:
Pain in the lower back or side of body.
Pain can start as a dull ache that may come and go.
Pain can become severe and result in a trip to the emergency room.
Nausea and/or vomiting with the pain.
Blood in the urine.
Pain when urinating.
Unable to urinate.
Feeling the need to urinate more often.
Fever/chills.
Urine that smells bad or looks cloudy.
8.
9. Diagnosis:
Urine tests to measure levels of oxalate and other specific enzymes; urine is also
checked for crystals
Blood test to measure the amount of oxalate in blood.
Scans (X-rays, ultrasound, and/or CT) of the kidneys and urinary tract to check
for kidney stones or calcium oxalate crystals.
Other tests may be done to determine if there are oxalate deposits in other
organs and tissues.
These tests include:
Kidney and bone marrow biopsies to look for oxalate deposits in these tissues
Echocardiogram to look for oxalate deposits in heart tissue.
Eye exam to check for oxalate deposits in the eye.
CT to detect calcium or oxalate deposits in the bowel wall, muscle, and arteries.
10. Treatment:
Taking medications.
For patients with PH, medications options include a prescription
vitamin B-6 (pyridoxine) to reduce the oxalate level; also
for a specific subtype of PH.
For patients with either PH or SH, medication options include
of potassium citrate or the combination of orthophosphate and
to prevent calcium oxalate crystals from forming.
Drinking fluids. For patient with either PH or SH, increase
your daily intake of water to 2.5 to 3 liters/day. Fluids
continuously flush oxalate from the kidneys, which help
oxalate buildup and stone formation.
11. Cont.….
Changing your diet.
If secondary hyperoxaluria is the cause, limiting salt intake,
intake, eating less animal proteins (milk, egg, and fish), and
in oxalate levels such as spinach, bran flakes, rhubarb, beets,
strawberries, tofu, almonds, potato chips, french fries, nuts and nut
Excessive intake of Vitamin C should be avoided. Be cautious of the
health fad.
Many of the food products used in juicing mixtures are high
foods.
Adding calcium-rich foods to meals helps reduce oxalate levels.
Calcium naturally binds to oxalate; eating calcium-rich foods at
this binding and removal of oxalate through the stool rather than
12. Cont.….
For preventing kidney stone consume lot of drinking water. If your kidney
stone does not pass on its own, a procedure may be performed to remove
the stone.
Possible procedures include shock wave lithotripsy, ureteroscopy, or
percutaneous nephrolithotomy.
If hyperoxaluria is severe, your kidneys may stop working.When this
happens, kidney dialysis or organ transplantation (kidney or liver-kidney
combination transplant) will be needed.
The type of transplant depends on the specific type of primary
hyperoxaluria.
There is limited data on the role of transplant for patients with secondary
hyperoxaluria.Your doctor will discuss all treatment options with you.
13. Prevention:
If you have been diagnosed with primary hyperoxaluria (an inherited
condition), hyperoxaluria cannot be prevented.
If someone in your family has been diagnosed with hyperoxaluria,
you can be screened for this gene defect.
Treatment can be started before any symptoms or organ damage
occurs.
To reduce the chance of recurrent kidney stones, chronic kidney
disease or end-stage kidney disease, patients with secondary
hyperoxaluria should follow the treatment plan outlined by your
doctor.