RESUMEN
Extracorporeal shock-wave lithotripsy (ESWL) is the treatment of choice in the majority of urinary calculi. In experimental and clinical research it has been shown that the method has short-term deleterious effects on renal function. Several factors, such as urinary tract infection (UTI), the site of the stone, pre-existing renal abnormalities, the number and intensity of the shock waves may influence the extent of the damage. The aim of this study was to measure the excretion of the renal microsomal enzyme, leucinaminopeptidase (MLAP) as expression of renal damage following ESWL. Our study shows that there was a significant elevation in urinary excretion of MLAP immediately after ESWL, especially in patients with UTI. These results indicate that UTI may be one of the risk factors for aggravation of renal damage after ESWL. However, these changes are transient and expressed less than in patients with light renal trauma arising because of other external influence.