Kidney Failure (Symptoms, Signs, Stages, Causes, and Treatment)

Kidney Failure (Symptoms, Signs, Stages, Causes, and Treatment)





Kidney failure definition and facts

Kidneys are the organs that filter waste products from the blood. They are also involved in regulating blood pressure, electrolyte balance, and red blood cell production in the body.
Symptoms of kidney failure are due to the build-up of waste products and excess fluid in the body that may cause weakness, shortness of breath, lethargy, swelling, and confusion. Inability to remove potassium from the bloodstream may lead to abnormal heart rhythms and sudden death. Initially kidney failure may cause no symptoms.
There are numerous causes of kidney failure, and treatment of the underlying disease may be the first step in correcting the kidney abnormality.
Some causes of kidney failure are treatable and the kidney function may return to normal. Unfortunately, kidney failure may be progressive in other situations and may be irreversible.
The diagnosis of kidney failure usually is made by blood tests measuring BUN, creatinine, and glomerular filtration rate (GFR).
Treatment of the underlying cause of kidney failure may return kidney function to normal. Lifelong efforts to control blood pressure and diabetes may be the best way to prevent chronic kidney disease and its progression to kidney failure. As we age, kidney function gradually decreases over time.
If the kidneys fail completely, the only treatment options available may be dialysis or transplant.


What Is Kidney Disease? What Are the Symptoms?

Kidney disease refers to conditions and problems with the kidneys and their function. Signs and symptoms of kidney disease may vary depending upon the type; however, common non-specific symptoms of chronic kidney disease include:
  • Loss of appetite
  • Puffiness around the eyes
  • Fatigue
  • Dry, itcy
  • Problems sleeping


What are the kidneys? Where are they located?
The kidneys play key roles in body function, not only by filtering the blood and getting rid of waste products, but also by balancing the electrolyte levels in the body, controlling blood pressure, and stimulating the production of red blood cells.

The kidneys are located in the abdomen toward the back, normally one on each side of the spine. They get their blood supply through the renal arteries directly from the aorta and send blood back to the heart via the renal veins to the vena cava. (The term "renal" is derived from the Latin name for kidney.)

What do the kidneys do?
When blood flows to the kidney, sensors within specialized kidney cells regulate how much water to excrete as urine, along with what concentration of electrolytes. For example, if a person is dehydrated from exercise or from an illness, the kidneys will hold onto as much water as possible and the urine becomes very concentrated. When adequate water is present in the body, the urine is much more dilute, and the urine becomes clear. This system is controlled by renin, a hormone produced in the kidney that is part of the fluid and blood pressure regulation systems of the body.

Kidneys are also the source of erythropoietin in the body, a hormone that stimulates the bone marrow to make red blood cells. Special cells in the kidney monitor the oxygen concentration in blood. If oxygen levels fall, erythropoietin levels rise and the body starts to manufacture more red blood cells.

Urine that is made by each kidney flows through the ureter, a tube that connects the kidney to the bladder. Urine is stored within the bladder, and when urination occurs, the bladder empties urine through a tube called the urethra.

What causes kidney failure?
Kidney failure may occur from an acute situation that injures the kidneys or from chronic diseases that gradually cause the kidneys to stop functioning.

In acute renal failure, kidney function is lost rapidly and can occur from a variety of insults to the body. Since most people have two kidneys, both kidneys must be damaged for complete kidney failure to occur. Fortunately, if only one kidney fails or is diseased it can be removed, and the remaining kidney may continue to have normal kidney (renal) function. If a both patient's kidneys are injured or diseased, a donor kidney(s) may transplanted.

The list of causes of kidney failure is often categorized based on where the injury has occurred.

Prerenal causes (pre=before + renal=kidney) causes are due to decreased blood supply to the kidney. Examples of prerenal causes of kidney failure are:

Hypovolemia (low blood volume) due to blood loss
Dehydration from loss of body fluid (for example, vomiting, diarrhea, sweating, fever)
Poor intake of fluids
Medication, for example, diuretics ("water pills") may cause excessive water loss
Abnormal blood flow to and from the kidney due to obstruction of the renal artery or vein.

What causes acute kidney failure?
Renal causes of kidney failure (damage directly to the kidney itself) include:

Sepsis: The body's immune system is overwhelmed from infection and causes inflammation and shutdown of the kidneys. This usually does not occur with simple urinary tract infections.

Medications: Some medications are toxic to the kidney including:

Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) like ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin, and others), and naproxen (Aleve, Naprosyn)
Antibiotics like aminoglycosides gentamicin (Garamycin), tobramycin
lithium (Eskalith, Lithobid)
Iodine-containing medications such as those injected for radiology dye studies
Rhabdomyolysis: In rhabdomyolysis there is significant muscle breakdown in the body, and the damaged muscle fibers clog the filtering system of the kidneys. Massive muscle injury may occur because of trauma, crush injuries, and burns. Some medications used to treat high cholesterol may cause rhabdomyolysis.

Multiple myeloma

Acute glomerulonephritis or inflammation of the glomeruli, the filtering system of the kidneys. Many diseases can cause this inflammation including:

Systemic lupus erythematosus
Wegener's granulomatosis
Goodpasture syndrome.
Hemolytic uremic syndrome: This condition results from abnormal destruction of red blood cells. It most often occurs in children after certain infections, but also may be caused by medications, pregnancy, or can occur for unknown reasons.

Postrenal kidney failure causes
Post renal causes of kidney failure (post=after + renal= kidney) are due to factors that affect outflow of the urine:

Obstruction of the bladder or the ureters can cause back-pressure because the kidneys continue to produce urine, but the obstruction acts like a dam, and urine backs up into the kidneys. When the pressure increases high enough, the kidneys are damaged and shut down.
Prostatic hypertrophy or prostate cancer may block the urethra and prevents the bladder from emptying.
Tumors in the abdomen that surround and obstruct the ureters.
Kidney stones. Usually, kidney stones affect only one kidney and do not cause kidney failure. However, if there is only one kidney present, a kidney stone may cause the remaining kidney to fail.
What causes chronic kidney failure?
Chronic renal failure develops over months and years. The most common causes of chronic renal failure are related to

poorly controlled diabetes,
poorly controlled high blood pressure, and
chronic glomerulonephritis.
Less common causes of chronic renal failure include:

Polycystic kidney disease
Reflux nephropathy (damage caused by urine backflow from the bladder into the ureters and kidney)
Nephrotic syndrome
Alport's disease
Interstitial nephritis
Kidney stones
Prostate disease

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