Potassium citrate, which is currently the most commonly used drug for preventing stones, has been found to be closely related to the formation of urinary tract stones between the pH and citric acid values in urine. For example, in acidic urine (pH value less than 5.5), the solubility of uric acid is very low, and it is easy to cause uric acid stones; on the contrary, in alkaline urine (pH value greater than 7), calcium phosphate or epimagnesium phosphate stones are very easy form. This can be confirmed from 19-63% of patients with urinary calculi whose urine citric acid is lower than the normal value, which is regarded as one of the reasons for the formation of uroliths. Since potassium citrate can provide a large amount of citric acid and increase the pH value of urine, it has a very prominent therapeutic effect on uric acid stones, calcium stones caused by low calcium citrate stones and renal tubular toxicity.
Potassium citrate not only has the above functions, it also causes the increase of potassium ions in the urine and the decrease of ammonia ions. This is because potassium citrate supplements not only citric acid, but also potassium. However, because potassium is metabolized quickly in the body, the potassium content in the blood does not change, so it has little effect on the body. The latter reflects that potassium citrate does alkalize the urine and reduces the acidic ammonia ions.
From the observation of total daily urine volume, oxalic acid, phosphate, sodium, magnesium, sulfate and uric acid, it was not affected by taking potassium citrate. Usually, patients with uric acid stones usually have a pH value of less than 5.5 in their urine. After using potassium citrate, the average pH value can rise, and nearly 90% of the patients do not recur. As for low-citrate calculi, potassium citrate is suitable for treatment. All patients will reduce the formation of uroliths, and the disease will not recur as high as 95%. For patients with renal tubular acidemia and urolithiasis, almost all patients have reduced urolith formation, and nearly 60% of patients have symptomatic relief