HYDERABAD: A woman who, following her father’s advice, self-medicated using the medications found on the internet, experienced complications like kidney infection and the formation of stone-like structures.
Urologists at Asian Institute of Nephrology and Urology (AINU) Secunderabad successfully treated and relieved the patient, offering a crucial lesson on responsible healthcare practices.
Speaking about the case, Dr Raghavendra Kulkarni, Consultant Urologist at AINU shared that a year and a half ago, the patient underwent surgery at some other institution to remove kidney stones and a few stones remained inside. Instead of seeking professional advice for recurring symptoms, she relied on her father’s advice and incomplete antibiotic courses, consistently stopping courses midway. This led to antibiotic resistance and bacterial protein precipitates, causing the formation of stone-like structures in the kidney.
The CT scan revealed several 10–13mm sized stones. Surprisingly, among that, only two were actual stones and the rest had transformed into matrix. These are rare forms of urinary calculi different from normal stones as the latter has protein usually no more than 2.5% of the dry weight of the stone. However, in matrix calculi, it accounts for between 42–84%.
Dr Raghavendra Kulkarni stressed the importance of avoiding self-prescription and completing prescribed antibiotic courses. He highlighted the risk of matrix formation, particularly in women, due to untreated infections. The recommended treatment, Percutaneous Nephrolithotomy (PCNL), proved effective in this case.