Diagnosis of Kidney Stones

Diagnosing kidney stones in early stage can help to recover from the disease easily. If any person experiences severe pain while passing urine or gets traces of blood in urine, then he\she needs to seek the medical help for diagnosis of kidney stones. The doctor analyzes the person’s clinical history or does physical examination. Blood test, urine test, x-rays and CT scan are also used for diagnosis of kidney stones.

The physician usually asks questions to determine the clinical history of the person. Normally he questions about their life style, diet, fluid intake, family history of kidney stone and any previous experience with stones.

The blood and urine test can help in diagnosis of kidney stones by specifying the levels of calcium, uric acid and other components in urine. If small stones pass out in urine, the doctor would analyze the stone itself to determine the type of stone. In fact, analyzing the type of stones helps in providing appropriate treatment to the patient.

Spiral Computed topography that is a CT scan is the best test in the diagnosis of kidney stones. It is a scan of urethra and kidneys. Intravenous Pyelogram (IVP) helps to view the position of urinary tract. This X-ray test is taken after giving an injection of certain dye into the vein in the arm. A series of X-ray tests is taken at regular intervals to diagnose the kidney stones.

If the IVP or CT scan does not provide adequate diagnosis then Retrograde Pyelogram test can be made. In this test, the injection in vein is avoided. Instead, the dye is injected through the tubes that help in carrying urine from the kidney.

Urinalysis can be used to make a diagnosis of kidney stones. Normally urinalysis is a test to determine the components in the urine. This helps to test the pH level in urine. The pH level will be four if the urine is strongly acidic, seven is neutral and 9 is strongly alkaline. The urine test also helps to test whether blood is visible in urine.

An abdominal x-ray helps in providing the clear picture of kidney, urinary bladder and the tube connecting the kidney and bladder. Therefore, it helps to identify the location and type of kidney stones.

Ultra sound test uses high frequency sound waves to give the picture of internal organs. It can detect stones in the urethra. However, it is not possible to diagnose small stones with the help of this test. This test is mainly used to detect kidney stones in a pregnant woman.

If any one feels extreme pain while passing urine or any other symptoms like bloody or smelly urine, then he\she needs to consult the family doctor who can help diagnosis of kidney stones. An urologist can also help in kidney stone diagnosis and he can provide further treatment to pass out stones. If anyone passes out the kidney stone with the help of treatment from the specialist, he\she needs to get another test to diagnose whether there are any possibilities to get back the stones.