Description

Acute kidney injury occurs when the kidneys suddenly can't filter waste products from the blood. When the kidneys can't filter waste, harmful levels of wastes may accumulate. The blood of the chemical composition can be out of balance.

Acute kidney injury is called acute kidney failure. Acute kidney injury is more common in people who are in the hospital, especially in people who need intensive care.

Acute kidney injury varies from mild to severe. If it is severe, permanent, and not treated, can be life-threatening. But it can also be the other way around. People with good health can be re-typical or nearly-typical use of your kidneys.

Symptoms

The symptoms of acute kidney failure may include:

  • Less production of urine.
  • The accumulation of fluid, which can cause difficulty breathing and swelling in the legs, ankles or feet.
  • Fatigue.
  • Confusion or fogginess.
  • Nausea.
  • Pain in the belly or on the side below the rib cage.
  • The weakness.
  • Irregular beating of the heart.
  • The itching.
  • Loss of appetite.
  • Chest pain or pressure.
  • Seizures or coma in severe cases.

Sometimes acute kidney injury does not cause symptoms. Then, it can be found through lab tests done for something else.

When to see a doctor

Consult with your healthcare provider right away or seek emergency care if you have symptoms of acute renal failure.

Causes

Acute kidney injury can occur when:

  • You have a condition that reduces the flow of blood to the kidneys.
  • You have damage to your kidneys.
  • The kidneys the urine drainage tubes, called ureters, block.

Decreased blood flow to the kidneys

The conditions that can reduce the flow of blood to the kidneys and lead to kidney damage include:

  • The loss of too much body fluid, called dehydration.
  • Infection with or without sepsis or septic shock.
  • Medications such as aspirin, ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin IB, others) or naproxen sodium (Aleve).
  • Blood or fluid loss.
  • Severe low blood pressure blood pressure medications.
  • Heart attack.
  • Heart failure or heart disease.
  • Liver cirrhosis or failure.
  • Bad allergic reaction, called anaphylaxis.
  • Bad burns.

Damage to the kidneys

The following can damage the kidneys and lead to kidney failure, acute:

  • The swelling and irritation, called inflammation of the tiny filters in the kidneys. This is called glomerulonephritis (gloe-mer-u-loe-nuh-FRY-tis).
  • Medications, such as certain chemotherapy drugs, antibiotics and dyes used during the testing image.
  • Infection, as the virus that causes the virus of the disease 2019 (COVID-19).
  • Toxins, such as alcohol, heavy metals, and cocaine.
  • An immune system condition called lupus, which causes glomerulonephritis.
  • Blood clots in the veins, and arteries in and around the kidneys.
  • The cholesterol deposits that block the flow of blood in the kidneys.
  • A condition that results in red blood cells are destroyed too early, called hemolytic uremic syndrome.
  • A group of rare diseases that affect the skin and connective tissue called scleroderma.
  • A rare blood disease called thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura.
  • The breakdown of skeletal muscle tissue, called rhabdomyolysis. Toxins from the muscles being destroyed leads to kidney damage.
  • Breakdown of tumor cells called tumor lysis syndrome. This leads to the release of toxins that can harm the kidneys.

Urine blockage in the kidneys

Conditions that prevent the urine out of the body is called urinary obstruction. These can lead to acute renal failure. They include:

  • Stones in the kidney.
  • Enlargement of the prostate.
  • Blood clots in the urinary tract.
  • Bladder cancer.
  • The prostate cancer.
  • Cancer of the cervix.
  • The Colon cancer.
  • The growth of pushing the ureters.
  • Nerve damage in the nerves that control the bladder.

Risk factors

Acute kidney injury is almost always linked to another medical condition or event. Conditions that may increase your risk of acute kidney injury include:

  • Course of the renal disease, also called chronic kidney disease.
  • Advanced age, but it is not so for the children.
  • Being in the hospital, most often of a serious condition that requires intensive care.
  • Blockages in the blood vessels in your arms or legs, so-called peripheral arterial disease.
  • Diabetes, especially if it is not controlled.
  • The high blood pressure.
  • Heart failure.
  • Diseases of the liver.
  • Certain types of cancer and their treatments.

Complications

Complications of acute kidney failure may include:

  • The accumulation of fluid. A buildup of fluid in the lungs can cause shortness of breath.
  • Pain in the chest. The membrane that covers the heart, called the pericardium, you can get inflammation. This can cause pain in the chest.
  • The muscle weakness. This may be a result of the body's fluids and minerals in your blood called electrolytes being out of balance.
  • Permanent kidney damage. Sometimes, the acute kidney injury causes permanent loss of the use of the kidneys, called end-stage renal disease. People with end-stage renal disease need to be for the whole life treatments to eliminate waste from the body, called dialysis or a kidney transplant to survive.
  • Death. Acute kidney injury can cause the kidneys to stop working.

Prevention

You can reduce your risk of acute kidney injury care of the kidneys. Try:

  • To be treated quickly to severe infections.
  • Work with your health care team to manage kidney, and other conditions.Kidney disease, diabetes or high blood pressure increases the risk of acute kidney injury. If you have one of these, what is your health care team tells you to handle your condition. If you have risk factors for kidney disease, check with your health care team to ensure that the prescription medications that are safe for the kidneys.
  • Read the labels when you are taking pain medications available without a prescription. Do what the label says when taking medications, such as aspirin, acetaminophen (Tylenol, others), ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin IB, others) and naproxen sodium (Aleve). Taking too much of these medications can increase the risk of kidney injury. This is especially true if you already have kidney disease, diabetes or high blood pressure.
  • Live a healthy lifestyle. Be active and eat a healthy, balanced diet. If you drink alcohol, do so in moderation.

Work with your health care team to manage kidney, and other conditions. Kidney disease, diabetes or high blood pressure increases the risk of acute kidney injury. If you have one of these, what is your health care team tells you to handle your condition.

If you have risk factors for kidney disease, check with your health care team to ensure that the prescription medications that are safe for the kidneys.

Diagnosis

You may have the following tests to diagnose acute kidney injury:

  • Blood tests. A blood sample can show the rapid increase in the levels of urea and creatinine. This helps to show how well your kidneys are working.
  • The production of urine measures. By measuring the amount of urine in 24 hours can help to find the cause of your kidney failure.
  • Urine tests. A sample of your urine may show something that suggests a condition that could explain the renal failure. This is called a urine analysis.
  • Imaging tests. Imaging tests such as ultrasound and ct scan may show their kidneys.
  • Removing a sample of kidney tissue for testing. Your healthcare provider may suggest the removal of a small sample of kidney tissue for lab testing. This is called a biopsy. A needle through the skin and into the kidney removed from the sample.

Treatment

The treatment for acute kidney injury more often means a stay in the hospital. Most people with acute kidney injury are already in the hospital. How long are you going to stay in the hospital depends on your reason for acute kidney injury and the speed of their kidneys recover.

The treatment of the cause of your kidney injury

The treatment for acute kidney injury is to find the disease or injury that damages the kidneys. Your treatment depends on the cause. This could result in the suspension of a drug that damage your kidneys.

The treatment of the complications until the kidneys recover

Your health care team also works to prevent complications, and give your kidneys time to heal. Treatments that help to prevent complications, which include:

  • Treatments for the balance of fluids in the blood.If the lack of fluids in the blood is the cause of their acute kidney injury, you may need to get fluids through a vein, so-called intravenous (IV) fluids. If acute kidney injury causes you to have too much liquid, this can lead to swelling in the arms and legs. Then you may need medications called diuretics, which cause your body to get rid of excess fluids.
  • Medicines to control potassium levels in the blood.Your kidneys could not filter of potassium in your blood well enough. Potassium regulates blood pressure and other body functions. You may need medications called potassium binders to keep the potassium out of the building. These include sodium zirconium cyclosilicate (Lokelma) or patiromer (Veltassa). The excess of potassium in the blood can cause irregular heartbeats, called arrhythmias, and muscle weakness.
  • Medications to restore the levels of calcium in the blood. If the levels of calcium in the blood to drop too low, you may need to obtain calcium through a vein, it is called an infusion.
  • Treatment to remove toxins from the blood.If wastes build up in the blood, you may need hemodialysis during a period of time. Also called dialysis, helps remove poisons and excess fluid from your body, while your kidneys heal. Dialysis can also help to remove excess potassium from your body. During dialysis, a machine that pumps the blood outside the body through an artificial kidney, called a dialyzer, that filters the waste. The blood is returned to your body.

Treatments for the balance of fluids in the blood. If the lack of fluids in the blood is the cause of their acute kidney injury, you may need to get fluids through a vein, so-called intravenous (IV) fluids.

If acute kidney injury causes you to have too much liquid, this can lead to swelling in the arms and legs. Then you may need medications called diuretics, which cause your body to get rid of excess fluids.

Medicines to control potassium levels in the blood. Your kidneys could not filter of potassium in your blood well enough. Potassium regulates blood pressure and other body functions.

You may need medications called potassium binders to keep the potassium out of the building. These include sodium zirconium cyclosilicate (Lokelma) or patiromer (Veltassa). The excess of potassium in the blood can cause irregular heartbeats, called arrhythmias, and muscle weakness.

Treatment to remove toxins from the blood. If wastes build up in the blood, you may need hemodialysis during a period of time. Also called dialysis, helps remove poisons and excess fluid from your body, while your kidneys heal.

Dialysis can also help to remove excess potassium from your body. During dialysis, a machine that pumps the blood outside the body through an artificial kidney, called a dialyzer, that filters the waste. The blood is returned to your body.

Lifestyle and home remedies

During his recovery from acute kidney injury, a special diet can help support the kidneys and limit the work they do. Your health care team can send you to a dietitian. A dietitian can look at what you eat and to suggest ways to make your diet easier on the kidneys.

Your dietitian may suggest that you:

  • Choose foods with a low content of potassium. These include apples, peaches, carrots, green beans and white bread and white rice. Eat in place of foods high in potassium. These include potatoes, bananas, tomatoes, oranges, beans, and nuts.
  • Don't eat foods with added salt. This includes many packaged foods, such as frozen dinners, canned soups, and fast foods. Other foods with added salt, which include salty snacks, canned vegetables, and processed meats and cheeses.
  • Limit of phosphorus. Phosphorus is a mineral that is found in food, such as the dark, soft drinks, milk, oatmeal and bran cereals. Excess phosphorus in the blood can weaken your bones and cause itching.

As the kidneys to improve, it's possible that you no longer need a special diet. But healthy eating is still important.

Preparing for your appointment

The majority of people are in a hospital when they arrive to acute renal failure. If you are not in the hospital and you have symptoms of kidney failure, make an appointment with your family's healthcare provider immediately. You may be referred to a specialist in diseases of the kidney, called a nephrologist.

Before your appointment, write down your questions. Consider asking:

  • What is the most likely cause of my symptoms?
  • I have my kidneys have stopped working? What could have caused my kidney failure?
  • What tests do I need?
  • What are my treatment options, and what are the risks?
  • I need to go to the hospital?
  • Are my kidneys recover or will I need dialysis?
  • I have other health conditions. How can I best manage these conditions?
  • What should I eat a special diet? If so, can you give me a nutritionist to help me plan what to eat?
  • Do you have printed material on the acute kidney injury that I can have? What websites do you suggest?
Symptoms and treatment of Acute renal failure