Kidney Stones clinical trials at University of California Health

The incidence of kidney stone disease continues to rise globally. Although the treatment of kidney stone disease has dramatically improved in recent years, surgical management remains invasive and expensive. Patients who develop kidney stones are at high risk of recurrence during their lifetime; therefore, prevention of stones should be a primary focus. Low levels of citrate and acidic urine are risk factors for the formation of kidney stones such as calcium oxalate and uric acid, respectively. Calcium oxalate stones are the predominant stone composition in the United States, accounting for over 2/3rds of stones. Citrate is a key inhibitor of calcium oxalate crystal formation and thus increasing it in the urine of a calcium oxalate stone former is quite beneficial. Uric acid stones account for approximately 10 percent of all stone types. These stones form primarily due to an acidic urinary environment which is a prerequisite for crystal formation. Common medications for stone formers include potassium citrate which help to make the urine more alkaline. Although effective, these medications have side effects and may prove to be too expensive (upwards of $450/month). Consuming baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) may prove to be an inexpensive ($0.34/month) equally effective alternative with respect to increasing urinary citrate levels and alkalinizing the urine. Investigators hypothesize that twice a day oral baking soda in a liquid medium (e.g., water, orange juice, soda, etc.) can be an effective, and inexpensive alternative to urocit K with regard to alkalinizing the urine and raising urinary citrate levels.