Urease inhibitors for kidney stones

Examples

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Brand Name	Chemical Name
Lithostat	acetohydroxamic acid

How It Works

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Urease inhibitors dissolve crystals and struvite kidney stones and prevent the formation of new crystals in the urine.

Why It Is Used

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Urease inhibitors are used to dissolve kidney stones (including struvite stones), prevent crystals from forming new kidney stones, and treat urinary tract infections.

How Well It Works

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Urease inhibitors have been shown to keep some struvite stones from coming back.¹

Side Effects

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Side effects of urease inhibitors include:

• Headache.
• Depression.
• Nausea or vomiting.
• Diarrhea or constipation.
• Skin rash.
• Excessive sweating (diaphoresis).
• Hemolytic anemia.
• Deep vein thrombosis (DVT).
• Pulmonary embolism (PE).

See Drug Reference for a full list of side effects. (Drug Reference is not available in all systems.)

What To Think About

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Usually, urease inhibitors are used only if you cannot remove the stones by other methods.

You should not take iron supplements or vitamins containing iron while taking urease inhibitors.

Do not use urease inhibitors if you are pregnant. Tell your doctor if you are or might be pregnant.

Complete the new medication information form (PDF) (What is a PDF document?) to help you understand this medication.

References

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Citations

1. Spector DA (2007). Urinary stones. In NH Fiebach et al., eds., Principles of Ambulatory Medicine, 7th ed., pp. 754–766. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams and Wilkins.

Credits

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Author	Monica Rhodes
Editor	Kathleen M. Ariss, MS
Associate Editor	Pat Truman
Primary Medical Reviewer	Adam Husney, MD - Family Medicine
Specialist Medical Reviewer	Philip Belitsky, MD, FRCSC - Urology
Last Updated	May 30, 2007