Abstract
The concentrations in urine of calcium and of oxalate were lower in a group of acute paraplegic and tetraplegic patients than in a group of non-paraplegic hospital in-patients. Twenty-four-hour urine volumes and excretion of calcium were higher in the paraplegic and tetraplegic patients and the 24-hr. oxalate excretion did not differ significantly between the two groups. Examination of hospital records of routine bacteriological examination revealed that the occurrence of calcium oxalate crystals was less, and of magnesium ammonium phosphate greater, in urine specimens from paraplegics than in those from non-paraplegic hospital patients. Results of electron microprobe analyses of three upper urinary tract stones from paraplegic patients indicated the presence in two of them of a region near the centre measuring 200 μm. across and consisting of a high concentration of magnesium ammonium phosphate. Some therapeutic implications of these findings are discussed.
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Burr, R. Urinary calcium, magnesium, crystals and stones in paraplegia. Spinal Cord 10, 56–63 (1972). https://doi.org/10.1038/sc.1972.10
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/sc.1972.10