Sarcouncil Journal of Multidisciplinary

Abstract: Background: Nephrolithiasis has high recurrence rates and is a severe health burden in the world, but patient knowledge and habits regarding prevention are not investigated properly, especially in regions with high risks, such as the Middle East. The paper evaluated knowledge, attitude, and practices (KAP) of nephrolithiasis recurrence prevention in patients who visit Al-Hussain Teaching Hospital in Karbala, Iraq. Methods: The survey was carried out between January and June of the year 2017, in 250 patients (age 18 and above) who received renal stone treatment either through extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL) or through visits to a urology clinic. The structured questionnaire that was used to collect the data included sociodemographics, a history of nephrolithiasis, KAP scores (assessed through the 3-point Likert scale: good/satisfactory/poor), and prevention measures. The Chi-square tests, correlations (Pearson/Spearman), and significance set at p<0.05 were used to analyze using SPSS v24. Findings: The participants were mostly male (54.8%), ranged between the ages of 31-40 years (24%), overweight/obese (69.2%), and married (87.6%). General knowledge was excellent (71 percent; mean 0.71) with the highest level on animal protein sources (0.83) and water intake (0.69). The satisfaction with practices was satisfactory (0.65; 47.2% satisfactory), though excellent at fruits/vegetables/water (100), but poor at dairy/red meat reduction. The response towards the attitudes was good (44.4; mean 0.81). Significant associations were found with better knowledge with overweight BMI (p=0.026), poor economic status (p=0.020), rented housing (p=0.006), and cigarette smoking (p=0.001); better practices with younger age (p=0.035), male gender (p=0.03), free jobs (p=0.011), and waterpipe smoking (p=0.004). There was a positive correlation between knowledge and practice (r=0.271, p=0.007). Conclusion: In spite of good knowledge, preventive practices are still suboptimal, which indicates a gap in knowledge and practice that is dependent on sociodemographic and comorbidities. Specialized education on diet (e.g., dairy/oxalate restriction) and fluid intake during hot weather would help to prevent recidivism among this high-risk group.