AtoZ Diseases

What is this condition?

Chronic glomerulonephritis is a slowly progressive disease, marked by inflammation of the kidneys. The inflammation leads to hardening and scarring of tissue and eventual kidney failure.

People with this condition usually don’t develop symptoms until the disease is advanced. By this time, the person with chronic glomerulonephritis usually cannot be cured and must rely on dialysis or a kidney transplant.

What causes it?

Common causes of chronic glomerulonephritis include a long list of preexisting kidney disorders, and it may be linked to some other diseases such as strep, lupus, and Goodpasture’s syndrome.

What are its symptoms?

Since it develops slowly and silently, people with chronic glomerulonephritis may not have symptoms for many years. At any time, however, it may suddenly worsen, producing high blood pressure and protein and blood in the urine, possibly followed by symptoms of uremic poisoning, such as nausea, vomiting, itchy skin, difficult breathing, and fatigue. Mild to severe swelling and anemia may accompany these symptoms. When the disease involves the heart or leads to kidney failure, the person will require dialysis or a kidney transplant.

How is it diagnosed?

Because the doctor usually can’t detect glomerulonephritis with a physical exam or questions, he or she will order urinalysis, which may show blood, protein, and debris from the damaged kidneys. The doctor may use blood tests and X-ray or ultrasound to learn more, and then a kidney biopsy to identify the exact cause and gather data to plan the persons therapy.

How is it treated?

The doctor first works to reduce the person’s symptoms and to control high blood pressure with drugs and a low-potassium diet.

The doctor may restrict and guide the person’s fluid consumption and prescribe diuretics to prevent congestive heart failure. Treatment may also include antibiotics (for urinary tract infections) and, eventually, dialysis or transplantation.

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What is this condition?

Acute pyelonephritis is a sudden inflammation of kidney tissues and is one of the most common kidney diseases. With treatment and continued follow-up care, most people get well, and extensive permanent tissue damage is rare.

What causes it?

Acute pyelonephritis is caused by bacterial infection of the kidneys. Those bacteria usually are normal intestinal and bowel organisms that grow readily in urine. The most common of them is Escherichia coli, but Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, and Strepto­coccus faecalis may also cause such infections.

In most people, the infection spreads from the bladder to the kidneys, where it can create colonies of infection within 24 to 48 hours. Infection may also be spread by hospital procedures such as catheterization, cystoscopy, or urologic surgery. The disorder may also result from blood-borne and lymphatic infections, as well as several kinds of urinary obstructions that make it difficult for the person to urinate.

Who gets the infection?

Pyelonephritis occurs more otten in women, probably because the urethra is shorter in women than in men, and because the urinary tract lies close to the vagina and the rectum. This allows bacteria to reach the bladder more easily. Women also lack certain antibacterial secretions men produce in this body region. Incidence increases with age and is higher in sexually active or pregnant women and in people with other kidney diseases or diabetes.

What are its symptoms?

The doctor will ask about such things as urgent, frequent or burning urination. The person’s urine may appear cloudy and have a fishy odor. Other common symptoms include a temperature of 102° F (38.8° C) or higher, shaking chills, flank pain, poor appetite, and general fatigue.

These symptoms can develop rapidly over a few hours or a few days. Although the symptoms may disappear within days, even without treatment, residual bacterial infection is likely and may cause symptoms to recur.

How is it diagnosed?

After learning about the person’s symptoms, the doctor will order a urinalysis. Typical findings include pus cells and, possibly, some red blood cells; significant numbers of bacteria; and a slightly alkaline urine pH.

A plain X-ray film of the kidneys, ureters, and bladder may reveal stones, tumors, or cysts in the kidneys and the urinary tract. X-rays with contrast dyes may reveal asymmetrical kidneys.

How is it treated?

The doctor will choose an antibiotic specifically designed to fight the persons infection. For example, E. coli may be treated with Gantrisin, NegGram, and Macrodantin or Furadantin. If the infecting organism can’t be identified, the doctor will prescribe a broad-spectrum antibiotic, such as Amcill. If the person is pregnant, the doctor will prescribe antibiotics with caution or urinary analgesics such as Phenazodine.

The person’s symptoms may disappear after several days of antibiotic therapy. Usually, the person takes antibiotics for 10 to 14 days. Follow-up testing includes a new urine culture 1 week after drug therapy stops, then periodically for the next year to catch any remain­ing infection.

Most people with uncomplicated infections respond well to ther­apy and don’t suffer reinfection. In infections resulting from an obstruction, antibiotics may be less effective, and the doctor may recommend corrective surgery. People who have a high risk of recurring urinary tract and kidney infections, such as those undergoing prolonged catheterization or maintenance antibiotic therapy, require long-term follow-up.

What can a person with acute pyelonephritis do?

If you are diagnosed with this kidney infection, here are some helpful suggestions:

• Drink plenty of fluids to help empty your bladder of contaminated urine. However, don’t drink more than 3 quarts (3 liters) a day because this may reduce the effectiveness of the antibiotics you’re taking.
• Follow the diet you are given to prevent kidney stone formation.
• Complete prescribed antibiotic therapy, even after symptoms go away. Get long-term follow-up care if the doctor says you are at high-risk for more infections.

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What do Doctors call this Condition - Acute renal failure

What is this Condition?

Acute kidney failure is the sudden interruption of kidney function due to an obstruction, reduced circulation, or kidney disease. It’s usually reversible with medical treatment, but can be fatal without it.

What Causes it?

Doctors divide the causes of acute kidney failure into three groups, according to where the problem starts: prerenal, intrinsic, and postrenal.

Prerenal failure is caused by any condition (hypovolemia, shock, embolism, blood loss, infection, pooling of fluid in sores or burns, heart disorders) that reduces blood flow to the kidneys.

Intrinsic renal failure is caused by damage to the kidneys themselves, such as infections and blood clots. Postrenal failure is caused by any condition (kidney stones, blood clots, tumors, or swelling from catheterization) that blocks urine flow from both kidneys.

What are its Symptoms?

The most common early sign is greatly decreased urination. Electrolyte imbalance and other severe effects follow, as kidney dysfunction disrupts other body systems. Specific symptoms include:

• Digestive system: loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea or constipation, inflamed mouth, bleeding, dry mucous membranes, bad breath

• Central nervous system: headache, drowsiness, irritability, confusion, convulsions, coma

• Skin: dry skin, itchiness, paleness, bruises

• Heart and circulation: low blood pressure (early in the disease); later, high blood pressure, irregular heartbeat, fluid overload, congestive heart failure, swelling, anemia, altered blood clotting

• Breathing: fluid in the lungs.

Fever and chills indicate infection, a common complication.

How is it Diagnosed?

The doctor will ask about previous disorders that might cause kidney failure, then will order blood and urine tests to look for specific evidence. Other studies include ultrasound and X-ray studies of the kidneys, ureter, and bladder.

How is it Treated?

If you have acute kidney failure, the doctor will first start you on a diet high in calories and low in protein, sodium, and potassium, with supplemental vitamins and restricted fluids. The doctor will watch your body fluids carefully for an excessive amount of potassium, a condition called hyperkalemia. If hyperkalemia occurs, acute therapy may include dialysis, glucose and insulin infusions, and sodium bicarbonate - all administered intravenously - and Kayexalate, possibly by enema, to remove potassium from the body.

If these measures fail to control your symptoms, hemodialysis or peritoneal dialysis may be necessary

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