close window
Housecall Archives
About our e-newsletters
- Free e-newsletters
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- We do not share your e-mail address
Housecall, our weekly general-interest e-newsletter, keeps you up to date on a wide variety of health topics with timely, reliable, practical information, recipes, blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts and more. Our biweekly topic-specific e-newsletters also include blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts, and other useful information that will help you manage your health.
Housecall Archives
close window
Mayo Clinic Housecall
Stay up to date on the latest health information.
What you get
- Free weekly e-newsletter
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- Recipes, tools and other helpful information
- We do not share your e-mail address
Tests and diagnosis
By Mayo Clinic staffIf your doctor suspects you have a kidney stone, you may undergo tests and procedures to diagnose your condition, such as:
- Blood tests. Blood tests may reveal excess calcium or uric acid in your blood. Blood tests allow your doctor to check for other medical conditions and to monitor the health of your kidneys.
- Urine tests. Tests of your urine, such as the 24-hour urine collection, may show that you're excreting too many stone-forming minerals or too few stone-inhibiting substances.
- Imaging tests. Imaging tests may show kidney stones in your urinary tract. Imaging tests may include computerized tomography (CT) or, less commonly, X-ray.
- Analysis of passed stones. You may be asked to urinate through a strainer designed to catch any stones you pass. That way, any stones can be collected for laboratory testing. A laboratory analysis will reveal the makeup of your kidney stones. Your doctor uses this information to determine what's causing your kidney stones and to formulate a plan to prevent future kidney stones.
References
- Worcester EM, et al. Nephrolithiasis. Primary Care: Clinics in Office Practice. 2008;35:369.
- Kidney stones in adults. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. http://kidney.niddk.nih.gov/kudiseases/pubs/stonesadults/index.htm. Accessed Jan. 5, 2010.
- Diet for kidney stone prevention. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. http://kidney.niddk.nih.gov/kudiseases/pubs/kidneystonediet/index.htm. Accessed Jan. 5, 2010.
- Watkins RW. Urolithiasis (kidney and bladder stones). In: Rakel D. Integrative Medicine. 2nd ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elxevier; 2007. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/177428112-2/0/1494/0.html. Accessed Jan. 6, 2010.
- Kidney stones. Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database. http://www.naturaldatabase.com. Accessed Jan. 6, 2010.
- Humphreys MR (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Scottsdale/Phoenix, Ariz. Jan. 8, 2010.
- Anderson CF (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. Jan. 7, 2010.
Find Mayo Clinic on