Single Centre Experience of Chelating Agents in Cystinuria

The study examined the use of chelating agents, penicillamine and tiopronin, in 63 cystinuric patients at a single center. It found that both medications had significant side effects leading to discontinuation, with 36% stopping penicillamine and 30% stopping tiopronin due to adverse effects like nausea, dizziness, and hair loss. Despite previous reports suggesting a worse side effect profile for penicillamine, this study did not find a marked difference between the two drugs. Importantly, 50% of patients who could not tolerate the first medication were able to tolerate the second, indicating a benefit in trying the alternative drug if the first is not tolerated.