Evaluation of the urinary podocalyxin and nephrin excretion levels to determine a safe time interval between two sessions of SWL for renal stones: a non randomized exploratory study

Abstract

Objectives We aimed to evaluate the role of nephrin and podocalyxin in determining the intervals between shock wave lithotripsy (SWL) sessions and how soon the kidney damage was recovered. Methods This work was a prospective study that included 30 patients with unilateral kidney stones. The patients’ midfow urine samples were collected before SWL and 1 h, 1 day and 1 week after the procedure. Nephrin and podocalyxin levels in the urine samples were measured by the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay method. Results Among the 30 patients who underwent SWL, 19 were males and 11 were females. The mean age of the SWL group was 34.7±13.2. Both biomarkers did not correlate with age, creatinine values, body mass index, stone side, stone size, energy, frequency and shock numbers. Nephrin and podocalyxin levels were signifcantly higher at the pre-SWL point (p 0.05). Conclusions Nephrin and podocalyxin may help to determine early period kidney damage associated with SWL. Post-SWL podocalyxin and nephrin values may be used to determine the interval between SWL sessions.