Adult Kidney Stone Hospitalizations and Emergency Visits Vary Widely Across

Nationwide surveillance of adult healthcare utilization in Mexico recorded 164,043 emergency department visits and 33,352 hospitalizations related to urolithiasis between 2020 and 2024, revealing substantial geographic and temporal disparities across the country. According to a nationwide observational study published in BMC Urology, the national crude rate of emergency department utilization reached 36.16 visits per 100,000 adults aged 18 years and older, while the national hospitalization rate stood at 7.35 admissions per 100,000 adults.

Urolithiasis is a common condition that imposes a substantial burden on healthcare systems through frequent emergency department visits and hospitalizations. While earlier epidemiological research conducted in Mexico had documented specific characteristics of urinary stone disease, comprehensive nationwide assessments detailing adult emergency department attendance, hospital admissions, and regional patterns of service utilization remained limited.

The study aimed to characterize the magnitude, temporal trends, geographic variation, and contextual patterns of urolithiasis-related emergency department visits and hospitalizations among adults in Mexico.

The retrospective observational study analyzed nationwide public registries capturing adult emergency department encounters and inpatient hospitalizations spanning the five-year interval from 2020 through 2024. Eligible patient encounters were identified among individuals aged 18 years and older using diagnostic codes from the International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision (ICD-10). To compute crude annual utilization rates per 100,000 adults, the investigators obtained adult population estimates from the National Population Council.

The researchers evaluated state-level variations and temporal trajectories using negative binomial regression models that incorporated population offsets to account for differential population sizes across Mexican states. In addition, the team implemented principal component analysis followed by hierarchical clustering to examine how state-level utilization patterns aligned with combinations of environmental, social, and epidemiological contextual indicators.

Marked geographic differences emerged in emergency healthcare usage, with crude emergency department utilization rates peaking in specific jurisdictions. Tabasco recorded the highest crude emergency department utilization rate in the country, followed by Campeche and Durango, contrasting sharply with the overall national baseline of 36.16 visits per 100,000 adults.

Inpatient admissions similarly exhibited prominent regional disparities, with the highest crude hospitalization rates concentrated in Yucatán, Tabasco, and Guerrero, well above the national rate of 7.35 per 100,000 adults. Furthermore, the negative binomial regression models revealed statistically significant state-by-year interaction terms for both emergency department visits and hospitalizations (p < 0.001), demonstrating substantial heterogeneity in how healthcare utilization changed over time among individual Mexican states.

Exploratory principal component analysis and hierarchical clustering grouped states into distinct profiles defined by overlapping environmental conditions, social vulnerability measures, and healthcare-access factors, which the authors suggested may contribute to the observed geographic variation. The investigators emphasized that future research incorporating individual-level clinical records alongside harmonized environmental and socioeconomic metrics will be essential to clarify the mechanisms driving regional differences in urolithiasis healthcare utilization across Mexico.

Subject of Research: Adult urolithiasis healthcare utilization and regional variation in Mexico

Article Title: Urolithiasis-related healthcare utilization among adults in Mexico: a nationwide analysis of emergency department visits, hospitalizations, and regional variation

Article References: Baas-Collí, R. V., Rangel-Méndez, J. A., Rincon-Miranda, E., Rubi-Castellanos, R., & Moo-Puc, R. E. (2026). Urolithiasis-related healthcare utilization among adults in Mexico: a nationwide analysis of emergency department visits, hospitalizations, and regional variation. BMC Urology.

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1186/s12894-026-02459-w

Keywords: urolithiasis, kidney stones, emergency department visits, hospitalization rates, Mexico healthcare utilization, regional healthcare variation, Tabasco, Yucatán, Campeche, Durango, Guerrero, ICD-10 coding, negative binomial regression, principal component analysis, hierarchical clustering, National Population Council, adult urology epidemiology