لخّصلي

Urinary stone disease (urolithiasis) is a major worldwide health burden with high prevalence in many countries (14).Consequently, the usage of CT scans has drastically increased over the years; for instance, the annual use of CT abdomen and pelvis in the US has increased from 24.6% in 2006 to 49.4% in 2015 per visit (20).Wang et al.'s study delineated the global stone belt with a high prevalence of urolithiasis stretching many regions around the world including Northeastern Africa where Somalia is located (15).Similarly, Somalia though not part of the Afro-Asian stone-forming belt that includes Sudan, it shares similar characteristics with Sudan in terms of lifestyle and diet, especially in the consumption.Low-dose NCCT is reported to have 96% sensitivity and 97% specificity with 99% positive and 90% negative predictive values in detecting urinary stones.

Urinary stone disease (urolithiasis) is a major worldwide health burden with high prevalence in many countries (14). Wang et al.’s study delineated the global stone belt with a high prevalence of urolithiasis stretching many regions around the world including Northeastern Africa where Somalia is located (15). In the same study, authors indicated that geogenic factors and climate change has an influence on the stone prevalence, and they presented that some countries have a greater risk of urinary stone disease (15). For instance, Somalia has an estimated 30–35% risk in most parts of the country except northeastern and central regions which showed a higher risk of the disease based on the probability calculations of WofE (weights-of-evidence methodology) (15). Perhaps, our high prevalence of 14.8% could be explained by the abovementioned predictions. Similarly, Somalia though not part of the Afro-Asian stone-forming belt that includes Sudan, it shares similar characteristics with Sudan in terms of lifestyle and diet, especially in the consumption. Ultrasound (US) is the basic diagnostic tool that is safe, quick, and cheap with moderate sensitivity and specificity (18). Although the US is considered an essential and effective method for the diagnosis of urinary stones, NCCT is recognized as the gold-standard technique in for detecting stones in the urinary system (19). Low-dose NCCT is reported to have 96% sensitivity and 97% specificity with 99% positive and 90% negative predictive values in detecting urinary stones.
Consequently, the usage of CT scans has drastically increased over the years; for instance, the annual use of CT abdomen and pelvis in the US has increased from 24.6% in 2006 to 49.4% in 2015 per visit (20).