Introduction and objectives: Somalia was predicted to be in the global stone
belt with high urolithiasis prevalence. We aimed to determine the prevalence of
urolithiasis and their demographic and computer tomography (CT) characteristics
among subjects under CT scans in Mogadishu, Somalia. Materials and Methods:
From March 2014 to November 2022, a total of 7,276 patients who underwent an
abdominopelvic non-contrast CT scan for various indications were retrospectively
reviewed. The mean age was 45.6 years with a standard deviation of 21.1 (range,
0.2–110 years). Patients were subdivided into two categories: adults (≥18 years)
and pediatric (≤17 years).
Results: Of the 7,276 patients, 1,075 (14.8%) were diagnosed with urolithiasis.
Among those with urolithiasis, 702 (65.3%) were male patients, and 373 (34.7%)
were female patients. Among them, adults accounted for 92.7%, while children
were 7.3%. Renal stones (nephrolithiasis) were the most common, representing
57% followed by ureteric stones at 35.5%, making upper urinary stones 92.5%.
Approximately 70 patients (6.5%) had bladder stones; of these, 26 of them (37%)
were accompanied by benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). There were 10 urethral
stones (0.9%) recorded in the study, all were found in male patients, 8 localized
in prostatic urethra, and 2 in the bulbar urethra. The overall mean stone size was
13.2 mm, and 60% of them ranged from 5 to 22 mm. Only 24% of the patients
were asymptomatic. Single stones were almost 70%, while staghorn calculi were
8.2%. More than 60% of the patients with urolithiasis showed some degree of
hydronephrosis ranging between mild to severe.
Conclusion: A CT scan-based urolithiasis prevalence indicates 14.8% in Mogadishu,
Somalia, and these results are consistent with the probability calculation of the
weights-of-evidence (WofE) methodology based on several risk factors including
temperature, climate change, mineral deposit, drinking water quality, and
distribution of carbonated rocks. Considering the high prevalence of the disease,