ABSTRACT
Nephrolithiasis affects approximately 10% of the American population, with men affected about twice as often as women. Fifty percent of patients who have one incident of symptomatic stones will have another within 5 to 7 years. It appears that the incidence is increasing, but it is unclear whether or not this is due to changes in the American diet [1]. Stone formation can be life-alteringly chronic. In patients such as athletes, soldiers, and astronauts, even the risk of one recurrence may be unacceptably large.
