KIDNEY STONES: UNDERSTANDING THE CHALLENGES AND LEARNING EFFECTIVE MITIGATION STRATEGIES Published: 15 May 2025 Updated: 20 May 2025 World Kidney Day, observed on March 13th, provided an opportunity to highlight the importance of kidney health. In 2023, a multinational study [1] revealed that approximately 850 million people are affected by chronic kidney disease (CKD) worldwide (10%), a significant burden upon global health. The kidneys play an important role in the body, filtering waste products and excess fluids from the blood, maintaining a balance of electrolytes and producing urine. For seafarers, kidney stones (hard deposits of minerals and salts that cluster together in the kidneys and urinary tract) are the most common kidney related problems. They represent approximately 1-2 cases every week, over a third of MedSea’s urological cases. Dehydration is a common contributing factor to kidney stones but medical conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure, gout, and previous kidney stones can also increase the risk. SEAFARERS & KIDNEY STONES: WHAT DOES THE DATA REVEAL? Dr Katherine Sinclaire, Senior Medical Advisor at MedSea says that “ The shoreside evaluation rate is slightly higher than that seen for most other medical categories. This is because usually, even if your symptoms are resolved, special imaging studies such as a CT scan or ultrasound are needed to determine if all the stones have passed. If they haven’t, it could pose a significant risk of developing renal colic further down the line. If kidney stones are not passed quickly, the seafarer may need to return home for treatment .” Kidney stone severity depends on factors like the stone’s size and location and can cause various symptoms including: Pain : In the side of the abdomen, flank or groin. Often severe, and can come on in waves, hence described as renal colic Vomiting : Due to severe pain Blood in the urine (haematuria): This is a common finding in kidney stones but often is not visib