KIDNEY stone prevention practices among healthcare providers in Sudan showed substantial gaps in clinical knowledge, attitudes and implementation, according to a cross-sectional study involving 405 healthcare professionals.
The findings highlighted inconsistencies in preventive recommendations, limited access to educational resources and a need for strengthened professional training to support evidence-based management of recurrent kidney stones.
Researchers conducted a descriptive cross-sectional study between October and December 2025 to assess knowledge, attitudes and clinical practices relating to recurrent kidney stone prevention among licensed healthcare providers in Sudan.
The study recruited 405 participants through convenience sampling, with data collected using a previously published 31-item structured questionnaire.
Most participants were aged 25–34 years (84.7%), while 83.7% had fewer than 5 years of clinical experience.
More than half of respondents (56.3%) reported receiving no formal training in kidney stone prevention.
Knowledge gaps were particularly evident regarding urinary citrate, with only 45.2% correctly identifying it as the principal inhibitor of kidney stone formation.
Healthcare providers demonstrated mixed attitudes towards established kidney stone prevention strategies.
Approximately one-third (33.6%) strongly disagreed that maintaining normal dietary calcium intake could prevent kidney stones, while 41.0% disagreed with increasing fluid intake among patients at risk.
Clinical recommendations also varied considerably.
Only 34.1% recommended daily fluid intake of 2–3 L, while 30.6% advised patients to restrict dietary calcium.
Additionally, just 30.9% routinely performed stone analysis for every retrieved kidney stone, highlighting inconsistent implementation of preventive assessment practices.
These findings suggested a disconnect between evidence-based prevention approaches and reported clinical practices among surveyed healthcare providers.
Education and Resource Barriers Affect Prevention
Researchers identified several barriers potentially limiting effective kidney stone prevention.
The most frequently reported challenge was insufficient patient education materials, affecting 55.3% of respondents.
Medication costs were identified as a barrier by 44.7%, while 44.2% reported patient non-adherence as an obstacle to preventive management.
The findings emphasised the importance of improving clinician awareness of urinary citrate and appropriate dietary calcium intake, alongside strengthening access to preventive resources.
Researchers concluded that continuing medical education, wider guideline dissemination and improved resource availability were needed to address knowledge and practice gaps.
These measures may support more consistent evidence-based kidney stone prevention in resource-limited healthcare settings.
Reference
Fadlelmoula YAD et al. Knowledge, attitudes, and practice patterns among healthcare providers in the prevention of recurrent kidney stones in Sudan: a cross-sectional study. BMC Urology. 2026
Adobestock/Om Yos
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