Some medications increase the risk for developing kidney stones, and individuals who take these medications may need to stop taking the drug, or have their dosages reduced. Individuals who continue taking the drug should have their kidney function checked regularly. Examples of drugs that can cause kidney stones are indinavir, topiramate, cranberry supplements and ceftriaxone.
Indinavir
Indinavir is an antiretroviral medication used to treat the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and is proven to cause kidney stones. In fact, according to nephrologist J. Huynh at the Kaiser Permanente Los Angeles Medical Center, in one case a patient developed kidney stones more than 3 years after taking indinavir. However, according to Mark A. Boyd, an Australian researcher and colleagues, in a study of 35 patients, they were safely maintained on indinavir by decreasing their dosage and having physicians carefully monitor their kidney function. However, although the patients significantly improved, they did not fully regain their kidney health.
Topiramate
Topiramate, an antiseizure drug, causes calcium phosphate kidney stones in some individuals. Topiramate increases the risk for hypercalciuria, which is excessive levels of calcium in the urine. This adverse effect was first noted by physician R.L. Kuo and colleagues in 2002 at the Methodist Hospital of Indiana and Indiana University School of Medicine in Indianapolis and has been confirmed by many other studies.
Cranberry Supplements
Some adults who have had recurrent urinary tract infections take cranberry supplements to acidify their urine and decrease risk for further urinary infections. However, according to pharmacist Steven Gabardi at the Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, cranberries are full of oxalate and one 450 mg of a cranberry tablet contains about 180 mg of oxalate. Gabardi and colleagues performed a 24-hour urine test on five healthy volunteers before and after the ingestion of cranberry and found that oxalate excretion levels escalated by nearly 44 percent after ingestion of cranberry supplements. They concluded that cranberry increases the risk for calcium oxalate kidney stones.
Ceftriaxone
Pediatric researcher Z. Avci and colleagues at the Fatih University in Ankara, Turkey found that ceftriaxone, a common antibiotic used with children, caused small kidney stones in about 8 percent of 51 children. One subject still had stones seven months after treatment with ceftriaxone. The researchers cautioned that patients on long-term ceftriaxone could be at high risk for large kidney stones and kidney damage and thus kidney function should be monitored.
References
- "Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology": A Review of Dietary Supplement-Induced Renal Dysfunction; Steven Gabardi, Kristin Munz, and Catherine Ulbricht; 2007
- "Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy": The Use of Pharmokinetically Guided Indinavir Dose Reductions in the Management of Indinavir-Associated Renal Toxicity; Mark A. Boyd, et al.; 2006
- "Archives of the Disabled Child": Nephrolithiasis Associated with Ceftriaxone Therapy: A Prospective Study in 51 Children; Z. Avci, et al; 2004
