We evaluated the clinical efficacy of long-term preventive treatment with a single evening dose of alkaline citrate. Information was collected from the files of 52 recurrent stone formers prescribed a daily intake of 3.75-5 g of sodium potassium citrate (SPC; 14-18 mmol of citrate). The annual and cumulative rates of stone formation and the rate of recurrence were compared before and during the treatment. A comparison was also made between the patients with (Group R) and without (Group NR) recurrent stone formation during treatment in terms of urine composition and previous history of the disease. For all patients who started the treatment, the number of stones was smaller during treatment (period tT) than during a period of the same length immediately before treatment (period tB), but greater than the number formed during a corresponding period immediately after the diagnosis (period tA). Via questionnaire we found low treatment compliance, with only 62% of the patients reporting consistent taking of their medication (Group T). The patients in Group T had a smaller cumulated number of stones during period tT than that during periods tA and tB, but the Kaplan-Meier curve of the fraction of patients remaining stone-free during treatment was almost identical to that recorded in 446 recurrent stone formers without medical treatment. No significant differences were recorded in terms of relevant pretreatment urinary risk factors between Groups T(R) and T(NR), but numerically higher values of calcium oxalate (CaOx) supersaturation and calcium/citrate quotients were observed in Group T(R). When 9 patients with a daily intake of SPC and a citrate excretion below 2.5 mmol/day were compared with 16 hypocitraturic patients only given drinking advice, the cumulated percentages of patients without recurrent stone formation in the 2 groups after 3 years were 44% and 48%, respectively. Although the number of patients in this study was small, our results indicate poor long-term protection from recurrent calcium stone formation when a single evening dose of only 3.75-5 g of SPC was taken. The rate of stone formation was apparently slightly reduced, but the fraction of patients free of recurrence was no different from that in patients without medical treatment.