Accepted guidelines for preoperative endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) in gallstone pancreatitis are lacking. Our previous investigations suggested that serum total bilirubin on hospital Day 2 best predicts persisting common bile duct (CBD) stones. We aim to identify an optimal total bilirubin threshold on hospital Day 2 that would predict persisting CBD stones and guide obt...

BACKGROUND The aim of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic potential of magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP) in preoperative patients with secondary common bile duct stones during the application of laparoscopic trans-cystic common bile duct exploration (LTCBDE). MATERIAL AND METHODS The clinical records of 255 patients were retrospectively analyzed. All patients included i...

OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of pulp stones (PS) in a Turkish dental patient population with respect to sexes and dental localization in relation between sex and this anomaly. MATERIALS METHODS A retrospective study was performed using bitewing radiographs of 814 patients ranging in age from 15 to 65. All data (age, sex, and location) was obtained from the f...

Young Aboriginal children in remote regions of tropical and desert Australia are at risk of developing urate stones in their upper urinary tract from an early age. These radiolucent calculi were only recognized with the availability of ultrasound diagnosis and are not associated with anatomic anomalies or abnormal uric acid production/metabolism. Although these stones appear to resolve spontane...

BACKGROUND Calcium phosphate (CaP) renal stones appear to be increasing in prevalence, and are caused by high urine CaP supersaturation, which arises from genetic hypercalciuria and high urine pH. Renal damage from stones or procedures, or treatments for stone could raise urine pH; alternatively pH may be intrinsically high in some people who are thereby predisposed to CaP stones. METHODS To ...

Purpose To compare the results of a chemical method of kidney stone analysis with the results of Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy. Materials and Methods Kidney stones collected between June and October 2015 were simultaneously analyzed by chemical and FT-IR methods. Results Kidney stones (n=449) were collected from patients from 1 to 81 years old. Most stones were from adults...

BACKGROUND Cholestatic jaundice (CJ) in patients with sickle cell disease (SCD) poses diagnostic and therapeutic dilemmas. This is an evaluation of the role of ERCP in SCD. METHODS A total of 224 SCD patients with CJ had ERCP. The indications for ERCP were based on clinical and biochemical evidence of CJ and ultrasound findings. RESULTS The indications were: CJ only in79, CJ and dilated duc...

It is still unclear as to the exact mechanisms that lead to bladder stones or a similar condition called hypercalcinuria in the rabbit. Hypercalcinuria is a high calcium content of the urine where large stones do not form, but rather there is an abundance of smaller crystals that cause the urine to be thick, white and difficult to pass. This condition is often referred to as bladder sludge. It ...

The pathogenesis of hemolysis-induced gallstones was studied in mice with a hereditary hemolytic disease called normoblastic anemia (genotype nb/nb) and in their normal controls (genotype +/+). Infrared spectroscopy demonstrated that spontaneously formed gallstones from nb/nb mice were nearly identical to stones from patients with chronic hemolysis as the result of sickle cell disease, and both...