The Pathophysiology of Acute Renal Failure Essay

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.

All the symptoms that were described were based on the kidney functions, so more and further

Acute renal failure occurs quickly over a period of days or weeks with a reduction in GFR and elevation of BUN, plasma creatinine and crystatin C levels. Oliguria (urine output of < 30ml/hr or < 400 ml/day) is usually associated with ARF, although urine output may be normal or increased as well. Fluid is still filtered at the glomerulus but there is an alteration in tubular secretion or reabsorption. Most types of ARF are reversible if diagnosed and treated early (Perrin, 2009).

Differentiate between the causes, signs and symptoms, and diagnostic findings in pre- renal, intra-renal, and post-renal failure.

This is sudden injury to the kidneys which stops them working instantly or nearly instantly, AKI can range from the kidneys only to stop functioning slightly or to completely stop working. Due to the name of it some people think that it is physical injury or blow to the kidneys however it is a result in complications of other conditions. It is usually seen in older people who are very unwell and get admitted to hospital, it’s vital that AKI is detected quickly as if AKI

Often times we may ignore the signs our body is trying to tell us. Mainly due to fear of the unknown. Our kidneys play an important role in our body. They are used to filter out waste through urination. There are many exams that physicians use to help diagnose renal failure and there are some less commonly used because they have no effect of diagnosis of renal failure. Ultra- sounds are the number one imaging modality to help in diagnosing renal failure and angiography of the kidney is the least used imaging modality. In order to prevent our body from shutting down it is imperative we pay attention to the signs of what our body is trying to tell us.

Lily was a 65 year old lady with stage 5 CKD, she had recently begun hemodialysis treatment three times a week as an inpatient and had been responding well to treatment. During dialysis treatment on the morning of the first day, Lily’s observations showed that she was: tachycardic, hypotensive, tachypnoeaic, had an oxygen saturation level of 88% and was becoming confused and drowsy. It became apparent that Lily had become hypovolaemic. The hypovolaemic shock seen in this patient was of a particular critical nature due to the fact that her dialysis treatment had moved her rapidly through the first two stages of shock with her compensatory mechanisms failing very quickly (Tait, 2012). It was also much harder to identify the early signs of

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

Kidney failure is the result of kidney disease that has either not been treated, or failed to respond to treatment. Some kidney diseases are: Acute kidney failure (potentially reversible), Acute nephritic syndrome, Goodpasture syndrome, Atheroembolic renal disease, Glomerulonephritis, Polycystic kidney disease, and chronic kidney failure (end stage) (United States National Library, 2010). The usual treatment for kidney failure is medication and dialysis. Dialysis is used for end stage kidney failure, when the patient has lost

kidney function, or a rapid decline in renal filtration function. The first signs of acute renal

Perform a urinalysis when possible to find levels of Specific Gravity (how concentrated the urine is), pH, Protein, Blood, Nitrites, Leukocytes, Ketones, Glucose and Bilirubin. The results of this test can help identify any possible impairment in renal function and identify the presence of an infection (Vera, 2011).

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).

However, when the kidneys stop working completely, this situation is known as end-stage renal failure (ESRF). There are some diseases may cause chronic renal failure and this essay will focus on two types of these common diseases.

stage is moderate, glomerular filtration rate (GFR) in the kidney has been reduced.7Yet, kidney still

There are different types of renal failure such as chronic kidney disease which is a slow progression over time and it can go unnoticed for a long time. Acute renal failure occurs suddenly, happening within a few hours or a few days, if not caught in time