Open Access

ARTICLE

Internet program for facilitating dietary modifications limiting kidney stone risk

Jessica N. Lange¹, Linda Easter¹, Robert Amoroso¹, Debra Benfield¹, Patrick W. Mufarrij², John Knight³, Ross P. Holmes³, Dean G. Assimos³

1 Department of Urology, Wake Forest University Baptist Hospital, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA
2 Department of Urology, George Washington University Medical Center, Washington, District of Columbia, USA
3 Department of Urology, University of Alabama at Birmingham Medical Center, Birmingham, Alabama, USA
Address correspondence to Dr. Jessica Lange, Department of Urology, Wake Forest University Baptist Hospital, Medical Center Blvd., Winston-Salem, NC 27157 USA

Canadian Journal of Urology 2013, 20(5), 6922-6926.

Abstract

Introduction: Certain dietary modifications limit the risk of stone recurrence. Compliance is an important component of dietary therapy for stone prevention, and self-efficacy is an important ingredient of compliance. We developed an internet program to facilitate dietary compliance for stone prevention and performed a pilot study to assess its effectiveness.
Materials and methods: The internet program provides information regarding dietary modifications including increased fluid consumption, limited animal protein, sodium, and oxalate intake, and adequate calcium consumption. Participants record their daily food and fluid intake and receive immediate feedback as to whether they were compliant or not. Five adult calcium stone formers collected three 24-hour urine specimens on self-selected diets, three 24-hour urine specimens while on a stone preventive metabolic diet, and three 24-hour urine specimens after utilizing the internet program for 1 month. Urinary stone risk parameters were measured, and data were analyzed using repeated measures ANOVA and Student’s t test.
Results: All participants recorded their meals and snacks for each day and found the program easy to navigate. The mean time in hours from food consumption to log in was 35.25 ± 70.8 hours. There were no statistically significant differences in stone risk factors between the controlled and internet dietary phases. Oxalate excretion was significantly higher during the self-selected dietary intake (p = 0.03).
Conclusions: This pilot study demonstrates that subjects appear to be compliant with utilization of an interactive internet program for stone prevention with dietary modifications. In addition, improvement in certain stone risk parameters occurred.

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Keywords

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