The initial presentation of a patient with cystine stones is identical to any patient with obstructing urolithiasis. They typically will develop acute flank pain with hematuria, often associated with nausea and vomiting. The pain will radiate around the flank towards the groin, and they often have CVA tenderness. Microscopic or gross hematuria is frequently present, but up to 15% of patients with obstructing stones may not have even microscopic hematuria. The strongest element in the patient history is a strong personal or family history of cystinuria and cystine stone formation.

Since cystine contains sulfur, the urine of hyper-cystinuric individuals may have a rotten egg odor. Typical hexagonal cystine crystals can sometimes be seen on urinalysis in affected patients. When these hexagonal crystals appear on urinalysis, it suggests supersaturation of the urine with cystine.[10][9]

The sodium cyanide-nitroprusside test is often the initial laboratory screening test for cystinuria as it is fast, simple, and provides a reliable, qualitative assessment of urinary cystine levels. The cyanide converts cystine to cysteine, which then binds to the nitroprusside creating an intense purple color in just a few minutes. The test typically turns positive at cystine levels above 75 mg/gm creatinine.[11]

The definitive diagnosis of obstructing calculi will require imaging, which includes CT scans, KUB X-rays, and/or ultrasound. CT scans without contrast remain the "gold standard" for the diagnosis of urolithiasis and will demonstrate cystine stones clearly as will an ultrasound for renal calculi, but they cannot distinguish cystine from other stone chemical constituents. Plain x-rays of the abdomen will not show cystine stones well as they are only faintly radiopaque and will tend to have a ground-glass appearance.[9]

Surgical treatment of cystine stones is similar to that of other stones except that cystine is notoriously resistant to extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL) unless the stones are less than 1 cm in size. Retrograde pyelography and the use of indwelling ureteral catheters will help to visualize stones that otherwise would be difficult to localize for ESWL therapy. Even then, the stones are relatively difficult to see and target reliably. They also will likely require more shocks than calcium oxalate or calcium phosphate stones. For these reasons, ureteroscopy with laser lithotripsy is preferable for most cystinuria patients with obstructing cystine stones that require surgery.

Total removal of all cystine stones and fragments has demonstrated reduced recurrence rates and better preservation of renal function. Surgery has not caused any measurable decrease in overall renal function.[12][13][14]

Medical Management

Acceptable levels of urinary cystine are 250 mg/L or less at a urinary pH of 6.5 to 7. This level can often be reached through increased fluid intake and urinary alkalinization. The use of thiol-based medications to reduce urinary cystine levels is discouraged unless hydration therapy and alkalinization treatment are insufficient to achieve the desired "optimal" cystine concentration levels (less than 250 mg/L) at an acceptable pH (6.5 to 7). A sustained urinary pH of 7.5 can be useful to dissolve existing cystine stones. Some experts have recommended even lower cystine concentrations of 150 mg/L and possibly even lower at 90 mg/L as "optimal."[9]

Hydration is usually the first step in medical management. Increasing fluid intake sufficiently to reliably generate 2500 to 3000 ml or more of urine per day is often necessary. The goal is to dilute the urine sufficiently to get the urinary cystine content as close to the less than 250 mg/L recommended concentration level as possible; this frequently requires having the patient wake up in the middle of the night to void and drink extra water. Drinking 240 ml of water every hour during the day and 480 ml before bed and at least once overnight is a standard strategy for maximizing oral hydration. Hydration can be monitored by following the specific gravity, which should always be 1.010 or less. Since some cystinuric patients can generate up to 1400 mg of cystine per day, hydration alone may not be sufficient, but it is always the first step in management. Up to one-third of cystine stone patients can manage their stone recurrences with fluid management. Optimal hydration will depend on the patient's cystine excretion.[9]

Alkalinization can not only prevent cystine precipitation and stone formation but may also dissolve existing cystine stones. For prophylaxis, the urinary pH should be targeted at 7.0 to 7.5, but for stone dissolution, a urinary pH higher than 7.5 needs to be maintained. At this high pH level (above 7.5), calcium phosphate stones can precipitate. In such cases, hypercalciuria needs to be controlled tightly with diet and thiazides. Mineral water and citrus juices can help increase pH levels, but potassium citrate supplementation is the mainstay of urinary alkalinization therapy. Usual daily potassium citrate dosage in cystinuria is 60 to 90 mEq total in 3 or 4 divided doses and then titrated as needed to optimize the pH. Serum potassium should also be checked periodically in patients on high dosages of potassium citrate to detect hyperkalemia.[9]

Sodium bicarbonate can also be used to help with pH issues, but it tends to have a relatively short-term alkalinizing effect, and the extra sodium intake may increase urinary cystine excretion. High animal protein diets are also discouraged in cystinuric patients for the same reason.[9]

Acetazolamide is a carbonic anhydrase inhibitor that increases urinary bicarbonate excretion and raises urinary pH levels. While not a first-line therapy (it can cause hypocitraturia and metabolic acidosis), it may occasionally be of some help in maintaining high urinary pH levels in addition to the other therapies mentioned. It can be particularly useful in maintaining a high overnight urinary pH without the need for multiple awakenings or additional overnight alkalinization dosing.[15]

When conservative measures as outlined above are insufficient after a 3-month trial period, a thiol-based drug regimen is usually the next step in active cystine stone formers.[9]

Thiol-Based Agents

Cystine is composed of 2 cysteine molecules bound together by a disulfide bond. Thiol-based drugs have sulfhydryl groups that can reduce this disulfide bond, producing a mixed cysteine disulfide compound that is far more soluble than the original cystine molecule. As a general guide, most patients with a 24-hour urinary cystine excretion of 500 mg or more are likely to need a thiol medication in addition to hydration therapy and alkalinization.[9]

Thiol-based treatment is thought to have the extra benefit of possibly making cystine stones more amenable to ESWL treatment. This may occur because of the mixing of calcium phosphate along with the cystine creating a more fragile stone that is more easily fragmented with ESWL therapy.

Penicillamine, a penicillin derivative, was the first thiol drug used for cystinuria. Penicillamine-cysteine disulfide is 50 times more soluble in urine than cystine. Each 250 mg penicillamine tablet can reduce urinary cystine levels by about 75 mg to 100 mg per day. The problem with penicillamine is that there is a high incidence of side effects, including fever, rash, loss of taste, arthritis, leukopenia, aplastic anemia, gastrointestinal (GI) disturbances, renal membranous nephropathy with proteinuria, and pyridoxine deficiency. The incidence of significant side effects is about 50%, which limits long-term compliance. Almost 70% of patients discontinued the drug due to adverse effects in one study. For these reasons, penicillamine use is limited in favor of other thiol-based drugs.[16]

Tiopronin (Thiola, alpha-mercaptopropionylglycine, or alpha-MPG) is a second-generation thiol drug that works similarly to penicillamine but is roughly 30% more effective with significantly fewer side effects. It received approval for use in the United States in 1988, so there is ample experience with the medication. The typical dose is 300 mg three times per day. Long-term compliance is about 70%. For these reasons, tiopronin is currently the thiol drug of choice for cystinuria when hydration and urinary alkalinization therapy fail to achieve optimal cystine concentration levels at an acceptable pH.[17]

Captopril is an ACE inhibitor normally used for hypertension, but it is also a thiol-based drug that can form captopril-cysteine mixed disulfides that are highly soluble, in cystinuric patients. While safe with few side effects, captopril's clinical effectiveness in cystinuric stone-forming patients is uncertain as various studies provide conflicting results. It should be considered a reasonable treatment option in cystinuric patients who are also hypertensive.[18]

Bucillamine is a third-generation, thiol-based drug that is currently available only in Japan and South Korea and is approved only for use in rheumatoid arthritis. As a di-thiol compound, it would theoretically be more effective than tiopronin and better tolerated since lower dosages of the drug would be needed. Experience in Asia has shown a low toxicity profile, and phase-2 studies are currently underway in the United States to determine its potential clinical usefulness in treating hyper cystinuria.

• Diverticularis

• Emergent management of Pancreatitis

• Gallstones

• Inflammatory Bowel Disease 

• Liver Abscess

• Peptic Ulcer Disease

• Pyoneohrosis

• Renal cell carcinoma 

• Splenic Abscess 

• Urinary Tract Infection and Cystitis in Females

Besides bucillamine, other new cystine binding agents or crystal growth inhibitors are under evaluation. For example, L-cystine dimethyl esters (L-CDME) and L-cystine methyl esters (L-CME) have shown promising results with good therapeutic effects at relatively low concentrations, which suggest better tolerability and fewer side effects than similar agents.[2][19] Some new, investigational thiol compounds, such as thiophosphate and meso-2-3-dimercaptosuccinic acid, are undergoing testing and appear promising.[20]

Most urinary dipsticks do not have any clear color differentiation between a pH of 6 and 7.5. A small Indianapolis company, Urodynamics (317-915-7896, 317-257-1302), makes an FDA-approved dipstick for home and patient use that has such differentiation as well as a specific gravity reading that is ideal for urine pH and hydration monitoring in cystine stone-forming patients on medical therapy.

Experimentally, real-time in situ atomic force microscopy has shown that L-cystine dimethyl ester (L-CDME) and L-cystine methyl ester (L-CME) can dramatically reduce the growth rate of cystine stones and crystals.  They interfere with specific receptor sites on crystal surfaces that block cystine molecule binding.[2][19]

Stem cell transplants have shown positive activity in reducing cystinuria in the mouse model.

Crystal growth inhibitors may be the next new wave of prophylactic treatments for cystine stone patients.  

About 25% of cystine stone formers will have non-cystine chemical components in their stones.  For this reason, complete stone composition analyses and 24-hour urine tests are recommended for optimal stone prophylaxis.[9]

An interprofessional team should work toward educating patients that treatment for cystinuria starts with diet (low meat protein, low sodium) and hydration sufficient to generate 2500 to 3000 mL of urine daily or more. Urinary alkalinization with mineral water, fruit juices, and potassium citrate will significantly increase cystine solubility. The goal is to achieve a cystine concentration of 250 mg/L or less at a pH of at least 6.5. An "optimal" cystine level is generally considered to be 150 mg/L or less, but some reports suggest that a cystine concentration goal of 90 mg/L is "optimal."  If this is not achievable or possible for any reason, (tolerability, compliance issues, side effects), then the use of a thiol-based cystine lowering medication is warranted. Currently, tiopronin is the recommended thiol medication of choice based on its efficacy and reduced side effect profile.  

The interprofessional team of urology nurses and clinicians should educate patients that long term studies of cystinuria patients followed for 21 years has shown that the best preservation of renal function and the lowest recurrence rates are found in those with early medical management of cystinuria along with complete surgical stone removal.[21] [Level 5]