Glomerulonephritis (GN), or the inflammation of glomeruli, is a leading cause of renal failure worldwide. Inflammation is characterized by vascular fragility, infiltration of leukocytes, and edema. Glomerular disease may manifest by three major syndromes: nephritic syndrome, nephrotic syndrome, and rapidly progressive glomerulonephritis (RPGN). Nephritic syndrome consists of sudden onset of hematuria, non-nephrotic range proteinuria (1.5 g/24 h), active sediment with red blood cell (RBC) casts or dysmorphic RBCs, acute renal failure, and hypertension. Nephrotic syndrome is characterized by heavy proteinuria (>3.5 g/24 h), edema, hypoalbuminemia, and hyperlipidemia. RPGN is characterized by active sediment (RBC casts and dysmorphic RBCs) and rapid development of acute renal failure usually over a period of weeks to months. Glomerulonephritis accounts for the majority of progressive renal disease in many parts of the world.
ETIOLOGY
Glomerulonephritis has diverse etiologies related to disorders of the immune system, including abnormal immunoglobulin and complement regulation. Glomerulonephritis is caused by immune processes that lead to deposition of antibodies and complement within the glomerulus. This results in injury to intrinsic glomerular cells, infiltration of leukocytes and damage to the capillary
…show more content…
Hematuria is a key manifestation of glomerulonephritis. Glomerular inflammation leads to glomerular hemorrhage where blood enters the Bowman’s space and erythrocytes are incorporated into RBC casts. These casts are the hallmark of glomerular injury and are almost always present in acute glomerulonephritis. RBC casts may persist for an indefinite period after an acute injury but will generally decrease in number as inflammation
Injury to the glomerulus and the tubules presents the onset of Intra-renal failure (Matzke, 2011). Some of the frequent causes for Intra-renal failure are glomerulonephritis; pyelonephritis; and tubular injury. Post-renal failure develops from things like ureteroliths, tumors, or anatomic impediments. Opposite of the acute form, the chronic form has a slow onset that has no early stage symptoms. It is important to know that following an acute episode a chronic renal episode often follows, and at this juncture the damage is irreversible. Glomerulonephritis and pyelonephritis combined, has been reported to be the forerunner in as much as half the cases from acute to chronic renal failure. Diabetes mellitus, renal vascular disease, such as atherosclerosis, hypertension, polycystic kidney disease, drug damage, and nephrolith are all examples of other causes of CKD (Pradeep, 2014). Biopsies of kidneys that suffered with CKD reveal smaller kidneys with scarring on the tubules.
Out of every thousand people in the United States, one person can say that they have experienced one of the most painful episodes one can go through. Some have said that compared to this, pregnancy is easy. Over half a million people will experience kidney stones this year, and a third of them will be hospitalized.
Nephritis is the inflammation of one or both kidneys. Causes may include: kidney conditions, lupus nephritis, neuropathy etc. Types of nephritis include: acute, chronic, glomerulonephritis, and autoimmune. Symptoms include: cloudy and bloody urine or reduced urine, and loin pain.
Acute renal failure condition is diagnosed and retitled as acute kidney injury. The purpose of the change of terminology was to encompass the full spectrum of the clinical manifestations associated with the syndrome. This includes a range from a small decline in kidney function to a severe impairment. Furthermore, the acute condition is characterized by a rapid loss of kidney function. In addition, associated manifestation(s) may be displayed as a rise in serum creatinine or a reduction in urine output. As a result of increase of serum creatinine or decline in urine output may developed and aggress to the clinical manifestation azotemia.
We collected data on the disease status (like renal histology, duration of nephrotic syndrome, number of relapses) and treatment status (like immunosuppressive treatments used before RTX, number of courses of RTX) of the patients. RTX response was measured at 1, 3, 6, 12, 18 and 24 months post RTX therapy in terms of proteinuria, spot urine protein/creatinine ratio (Up/Uc) or creatinine clearance. Complete blood counts, lipid profile and serum albumin levels were monitored regularly.
Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) is a disease that is described as a loss of kidney function gradually over time. As kidney function decreases, the waste collection in the body’s blood becomes high and makes the individual feel sick. This disease can lead to other complications in the body such as anemia, poor nutritional health, high blood pressure, and nerve damage. These complications will begin to progress and show as CKD progresses to advanced stages. Early detection of this disease is essential when it comes to treatment. If CKD is diagnosed early enough the disease progression can be slowed down and managed. This disease will eventually lead to failure of the kidneys
Ms. S.M. was a patient admitted for the management of renal failure. During morning rounds, we noticed her potassium levels to be elevated. She was asymptomatic and her EKG did not show any abnormal changes. As a team, we coordinated with each other and successfully managed her potassium levels. The hours spent to manage this patient helped me to understand the importance of clear communication and the dynamics of team work in a hospital setting. Though we managed her hyperkalemia, the patient was still facing an uncertain prognosis with her kidney disease. Her family members were worried about providing financial support for her care, which is a major problem in India. It made me wonder if there was anything more we could do for her. However, along with providing clinical care, establishing a relationship with her and her son gave me a sense of satisfaction. It made me realize the potential of developing long term relations with my patients in this field.
kidney function, or a rapid decline in renal filtration function. The first signs of acute renal
Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is an irreversible condition that progresses causing kidney dysfunction and then to kidney failure. It is classified by a GFR of <60mL/min for longer than 3 months. There are five stages of CKD: Stage 1 has kidney damage but has a GFR ≥ 90. Stage 2 has mild damage and a GFR of 60-89. Stage 3 has moderate damage and a GFR of 30-59. Stage 4 has severe damage and a GFR of 15-29. Stage 5 is also known as end stage renal disease (ESRD), this is kidney failure with a GFR of ≤ 15 and theses patients are typically on dialysis or in need of an immediate transplant. The leading cause of CKD is diabetes. Hypertension is also a major cause. Since most DM patients have HTN,
Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) is among the leading causes of mortality throughout the world, and its prevalence and the health care costs resulting from it are considerable and increasing. CKD commonly is silent and asymptomatic until its late stages. Accordingly, CKD is diagnosed prior to symptomatic stage of kidney failure, resulting in delays in proper interventions and the emergence of adverse consequences in the CKD patients
Nephrotoxins, acute interstitial nephritis, glomerular damage, and vascular damage also correlate with intrarenal acute renal failure (Singh, Levy, & Pusey, 2013). Postrenal acute renal failure is usually a result of a urinary tract obstruction that affects the kidneys bilaterally, which causes the intraluminal pressure upstream from the site of the obstruction to increase with a progressive decrease in the glomerular filtration rate (McCance, Huether, Brashers, & Rote, 2014). A pattern consisting of several hours of anuria with flank pain followed by polyuria is typically found in individuals with postrenal acute renal failure (McCance, Huether, Brashers, & Rote, 2014).
There is a pair of kidneys in the human body. They are situated towards the back of the body under the ribs, just at the level of the waist where one on either side of the body. Each kidney is composed of about one million units which are called nephrons and each nephron consists of two parts: a filter which is called the glomerulus and a tubule leading out from the nephron (Cameron 1999). According to Marshall and Bangert (2008) the kidneys have three major functions. Firstly, the kidneys are excretion of waste from plasma in the blood. The second function is that, they maintain of extracellular fluid volume and composition. Lastly, the kidneys have a role in hormone synthesis.
Hemodialysis (HD) is one of several renal replacement therapies used for the treatment of end stage kidney disease (ESKD) and kidney failure. Dialysis removes excess fluids and waste products and restores chemical and electrolyte balance. HD involves passing the patient’s blood through an artificial semipermeable membrane to perform the filtering and excretion functions of the kidney. One important step before starting regular hemodialysis sessions is preparing the vascular access; ideally, a vascular access should be placed weeks or months before you start dialysis. The
stage is moderate, glomerular filtration rate (GFR) in the kidney has been reduced.7Yet, kidney still
To understand what renal failure is, it is important to know how the kidneys work and what the main functions are. The body has two kidneys on either side of the spine and the kidneys work to remove toxic waste and excess water by producing urine. The kidneys also help with controlling blood pressure and produce erythropoietin as well as aiding in keeping bones strong by producing calcetrol hormones. When the kidneys are unable to perform these functions it causes the kidneys to fail.