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Kidney Stones, Urolithiasis, HypocitraturiaPhase 1/2NCT07408076

Sodium Bicarbonate as an Alternative to Potassium Citrate for Kidney Stones

A Phase 1/2 study testing Potassium Citrate and Sodium Bicarbonate in people with Kidney Stones, Urolithiasis, Hypocitraturia and Nephrolithiasis, run by University of California, Los Angeles at 6 sites in 3 countries.

Not yet recruiting

Opening soon. The study is approved but enrolment has not started yet. Sites may already take enquiries.

Sites and contacts
Official record
Search all trials

Trial summary

Kidney stones affect 1 in every 11 people in the US each year. In patients with kidney stones who are prescribed medications for stone management, only 30.2% are adherent to a medication regime and even fewer, only 13.4 % are adherent with citrate medications. Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Ages 18 years and older
What is being tested?
Potassium Citrate and Sodium Bicarbonate
Could I receive a placebo?
No, everyone receives an active treatment
How many people
30 participants
Where
6 sitesin 3 countries
Study dates
1 Feb 2026to 1 Feb 2028
Phase
Phase 1/2
Are there results?
Not yet: the study is under way

Key requirements

Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.

  • Ages 18 years and older
  • All sexes
  • No healthy volunteers
  • Adult, Older adult

Who may be able to join

  • Adult >18 years of age
  • History of nephrolithiasis
  • One 24h urine collections within one year of enrollment with hypocitraturia.
  • Patients currently utilizing or considering use of Kcit for stone prevention

Who cannot join

  • Individuals with known metabolic disorders
  • Individuals with other known causes of nephrolithiasis
  • Anyone who, in the opinion of the PI, is unfit or unsuitable to participate in the study

Trial locations and contacts

6 sites in 3 countries. Contact the study team or a site near you to ask about taking part.

Janelly B Jimenez contact

JBJimenez@mednet.ucla.edu

6 sites in 3 countries

United States4 sites
  • Brigham & Women's

    Boston, Massachusetts, 02115

    Daniel Wolen

  • University of California, Los Angeles

    Los Angeles, California, 90095

  • University of California, Davis

    Sacramento, California, 95817

    Noah Canvasser

  • University of California, San Diego

    San Diego, California, 92103

    Seth Bechis

Other trials in United States

Canada1 site
  • CHUM

    Montreal

Other trials in Canada

Iceland1 site
  • Landspitali- National University Hospital of Iceland

    Reykjavik

    Johann Ingimarsson

Other trials in Iceland

About this study

Kidney stones affect 1 in every 11 people in the US each year. In patients with kidney stones who are prescribed medications for stone management, only 30.2% are adherent to a medication regime and even fewer, only 13.4 % are adherent with citrate medications.

Prescription potassium citrate can be expensive for many patients, leading to non-compliance. Sodium bicarbonate is a potential medication alternative that is cheaper and can potentially alkalinize the urine and/or decrease the risk of future kidney stones. However, efficacy of alternatives to potassium potassium citrate are not well studied.

This study seeks to evaluate sodium bicarbonate and assess its ability to alkalinize urine in a cohort of patients with kidney stones and compare this to prescription potassium citrate.

Read the detailed description

Kidney stones affect 1 in every 11 people in the United States each year. A recurrence rate of 50% at 10 years highlights the importance of metabolic management, which has shown to be effective at decreasing the recurrence of stone disease. Specialty guidelines have recommended that clinicians offer pharmacologic therapy to recurrent stone formers. However, among kidney stone patients prescribed medication for stone management, only 30.2% are adherent to a medication regimen and even fewer, only 13.4%, are adherent with citrate medications.

Prescription potassium citrate (Kcit) can be cost-prohibitive for many patients, leading to non-compliance. The combination of the effectiveness of medication with the prohibitory cost of the prescriptions has led to the exploration of treatment alternatives which promise to alkalinize the urine and/or decrease the risk of future kidney stones, including sodium bicarbonate. However, the efficacy of these alternatives in comparison to Kcit are not well studied and often include other alkali equivalents.

A short-term study with limited sample size suggests sodium bicarbonate to be a viable alternative to Kcit. Our goal is to evaluate sodium bicarbonate and assess its ability to alkalinize urine in a cohort of stone-forming patients and compare this to prescription Kcit.

Being tested
Potassium Citrate, Sodium Bicarbonate
Keywords
kidney stone, stone, calcium oxalate, calcium phosphate, potassium citrate, sodium bicarbonate, nephrolithiasis
Medical subject headings
Kidney Calculi, Urolithiasis, Nephrolithiasis, Calculi

What participants receive

What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.

  • Potassium CitrateDrug

    20 mEq Kcit twice a day (40 mEq daily

  • Sodium BicarbonateDrug

    650 mg sodium bicarbonate twice a day (35.2 mEq daily)

Study groups in NCT07408076
Study groupRoleWhat they receive
Sodium Bicarbonate -> Potassium CitrateExperimentalReceives 1 week of sodium bicarbonate, then 1 week of potassium citrate after washout.
Receives: Drug: Potassium Citrate; Drug: Sodium Bicarbonate
Potassium Citrate -> Sodium BicarbonateExperimental1 week of potassium citrate first, then sodium bicarbonate after a washout.
Receives: Drug: Potassium Citrate; Drug: Sodium Bicarbonate

What is being measured

The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.

  1. Change in 24-Hour Urinary Citrate Excretion from 24-Hour Urine Collection

    Change in 24-hour urinary citrate excretion measured from 24-hour urine collections obtained at baseline and after intervention.

    To determine if sodium bicarbonate is not significantly worse than potassium citrate by more than a clinically acceptable margin of -10

    Unit: mg/day

    Measured: 14 days

Secondary outcomes (2)
  1. Change in Urine pH Measured from 24-Hour Urine Collection

    Change in urine pH measured from 24 hour urine collections obtained at baseline and after intervention

    units: pH

    Measured: 14 days

  2. Change in 24 hour Urinary Ammonia Excretion from 24 Hour Urine Collection

    Change in 24 hour urinary ammonia excretion from 24 hour urine collections obtained at baseline and after intervention

    Unit: mmol/day

    Measured: 14 days

Timeline

From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.

  1. First posted12 Feb 2026
  2. Study start1 Feb 2026 (estimated)
  3. Primary completion1 Aug 2026 (estimated)
  4. Study completion1 Feb 2028 (estimated)

Resources

More details

For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.

Study design
Study type
Interventional
Phase
Phase 1/2
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomised
Intervention model
Crossover
Model description
1. Patients with confirmed hypocitraturia identified and enrolled in study 2. Pre-study medical history and laboratory data will be recorded, and 24 hour urine will be obtained 3. Set diet will be followed x 48hrs while on first treatment (sodium bicarbonate or potassium citrate; order randomized for 50:50 chance) for at least 1 week 4. 24 Hour urine performed during 2nd day of set diet 5. 1 week washout 6. 1 week use of other medication (sodium bicarbonate or potassium citrate) 7. Set diet will be followed x 48hrs while on potassium citrate 8. 24 Hour urine performed during 2nd day of set diet 9. Change in citrate, pH, and ammonia will be recorded.
Masking
None (open label)
Enrolment
30 participants (estimated)
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT07408076
Sponsor's protocol ID
IRB-24-5580
Other IDs
IRB-24-5580
Status last verified
Jan 2026
First submitted
16 Jan 2026
Last updated
12 Feb 2026
Results posted
No
Data monitoring committee
Yes
FDA-regulated drug
Yes
FDA-regulated device
No
Individual data sharing
Yes: De-identified individual participant data that underlie the results reported in this study, along with the Study Protocol and Statistical Analysis Plan, will be made available to qualified researchers upon request. Interested parties should direct their inquiries and research proposals to KScotland@mednet.ucla.edu. To gain access, requestors will be required to provide a methodologically sound proposal and sign a formal Data Use Agreement (DUA) to ensure participant confidentiality. Data will be available beginning 6 months after the publication of the primary results and will remain accessible for a period of 3 years. The study team will review all requests to determine if the proposed use of the data aligns with the original study's ethical approvals and scientific objectives.

Publications

  • Xue W, Cheng J, Zhao J, Wang L, Peng A, Liu X. Comparison potassium sodium hydrogen citrate with sodium bicarbonate in urine alkalization: a prospective crossover-controlled trial. Int Urol Nephrol. 2023 Jan;55(1):61-68. doi: 10.1007/s11255-022-03387-y. Epub 2022 Oct 19.

    PubMed 36261757
  • Pinheiro VB, Baxmann AC, Tiselius HG, Heilberg IP. The effect of sodium bicarbonate upon urinary citrate excretion in calcium stone formers. Urology. 2013 Jul;82(1):33-7. doi: 10.1016/j.urology.2013.03.002. Epub 2013 Apr 18.

    PubMed 23602798
  • Dauw CA, Yi Y, Bierlein MJ, Yan P, Alruwaily AF, Ghani KR, Wolf JS Jr, Hollenbeck BK, Hollingsworth JM. Factors Associated With Preventive Pharmacological Therapy Adherence Among Patients With Kidney Stones. Urology. 2016 Jul;93:45-9. doi: 10.1016/j.urology.2016.03.030. Epub 2016 Mar 31.

    PubMed 27041472
  • Pearle MS, Goldfarb DS, Assimos DG, Curhan G, Denu-Ciocca CJ, Matlaga BR, Monga M, Penniston KL, Preminger GM, Turk TM, White JR; American Urological Assocation. Medical management of kidney stones: AUA guideline. J Urol. 2014 Aug;192(2):316-24. doi: 10.1016/j.juro.2014.05.006. Epub 2014 May 20.

    PubMed 24857648
  • Pearle MS, Roehrborn CG, Pak CY. Meta-analysis of randomized trials for medical prevention of calcium oxalate nephrolithiasis. J Endourol. 1999 Nov;13(9):679-85. doi: 10.1089/end.1999.13.679.

    PubMed 10608521
  • Barcelo P, Wuhl O, Servitge E, Rousaud A, Pak CY. Randomized double-blind study of potassium citrate in idiopathic hypocitraturic calcium nephrolithiasis. J Urol. 1993 Dec;150(6):1761-4. doi: 10.1016/s0022-5347(17)35888-3.

    PubMed 8230497
  • Ettinger B, Pak CY, Citron JT, Thomas C, Adams-Huet B, Vangessel A. Potassium-magnesium citrate is an effective prophylaxis against recurrent calcium oxalate nephrolithiasis. J Urol. 1997 Dec;158(6):2069-73. doi: 10.1016/s0022-5347(01)68155-2.

    PubMed 9366314
  • Uribarri J, Oh MS, Carroll HJ. The first kidney stone. Ann Intern Med. 1989 Dec 15;111(12):1006-9. doi: 10.7326/0003-4819-111-12-1006.

    PubMed 2688503
  • Scales CD Jr, Smith AC, Hanley JM, Saigal CS; Urologic Diseases in America Project. Prevalence of kidney stones in the United States. Eur Urol. 2012 Jul;62(1):160-5. doi: 10.1016/j.eururo.2012.03.052. Epub 2012 Mar 31.

    PubMed 22498635

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

A Phase 1/2 study testing Potassium Citrate and Sodium Bicarbonate in people with Kidney Stones, Urolithiasis, Hypocitraturia and Nephrolithiasis, run by University of California, Los Angeles at 6 sites in 3 countries.

The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.

Who may be eligible to take part?

The sponsor lists 4 inclusion and 3 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.

Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?

The record says: opening soon, as of the sponsor's last update on 12 Feb 2026. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.

Where is the study taking place?

The record lists 6 sites in United States, Canada, Iceland. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.

What are the possible benefits and risks?

They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.

What does this combined phase mean?

Phase 1 studies test a treatment in a small group of people for the first time or in a new way, mainly to check safety and find the right dose.

Phase 2 studies give the treatment to a larger group to see whether it has the intended effect and to keep checking safety.

Not every study follows the same path, and some studies (observational studies, device studies) have no phase.

Are results available for this study?

This study is still under way. Results are not available in the source record yet.

How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?

Contact Janelly B Jimenez (JBJimenez@mednet.ucla.edu), or a site near the patient. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.

What does the primary outcome measure?

Change in 24-Hour Urinary Citrate Excretion from 24-Hour Urine Collection (time frame: 14 days). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.

Where can I read the original study information?

On the ClinicalTrials.gov record for NCT07408076, which also lists 9 linked publications.

Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?

No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.

How often is this information updated?

AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 12 Feb 2026.

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