Chronic Kidney Failure - Causes, Symptoms and Treatment

Chronic Kidney Failure - Causes, Symptoms and Treatment

The chronic kidney failure is progressive loss of the ability of the kidney to properly perform one or more of the functions assigned, explains the Nephrologist in Delhi. These preferably consist of:

Purify waste substances produced in our body.

• Maintain an adequate balance of the amount of water and electrolytes.
• Manufacture and activate certain hormones necessary for the normal functioning of our body.

According to the Nephrologist in Delhi, Chronic kidney failure is a progressive process that evolves over many years and is irreversible, although strategies can be used to delay the progressive deterioration of the kidney.

Causes of chronic kidney failure

Many diseases can chronically damage the kidney. The most important ones are:

• Metabolic diseases. By far the majority of cases of chronic kidney failure in Western societies are due to diabetes and high blood pressure.
• Glomerulonephritis, that is, inflammation of the kidney glomeruli, the place where the blood is filtered. Glomerulonephritis can be of unknown cause or associated with other diseases, usually vasculitis or autoimmune diseases.
• Genetic (birth) diseases such as polycystic kidney disease.
• Medications and toxins.
• Infectious diseases such as recurrent pyelonephritis.
• Renal lithiasis due to the presence of large stones.
• Or after causes.

What symptoms does chronic kidney failure produce?

Most people with chronic kidney failure have no symptoms. The appearance of symptoms depends on the severity of the kidney deterioration.

In the early stages, when there are no symptoms, kidney failure is discovered by taking a blood test for any reason and discovering an increase in creatinine.

As kidney deterioration progresses, vague and nonspecific symptoms may appear such as loss of appetite, weight loss, fatigue, nausea, vomiting, headache, mental dullness, cramps, itchy skin, loss of sexual interest, easy bleeding, irritability, tendency to sleep, lack of concentration, etc, states the Best Nephrologist in Delhi.

When renal failure is advanced, in addition to the previous symptoms, a series of important alterations occur that require adequate treatment:

• Arterial hypertension. Both high blood pressure can lead to the appearance of chronic kidney failure, and chronic kidney failure can favor the development of high blood pressure and its possible complications.
• Increased potassium (hyperkalemia). Potassium is eliminated by the kidney. If it doesn’t work well, it can build up in the blood and be life-threatening due to the possibility of serious heart arrhythmias.
• Increased phosphorus. It is associated with the appearance of calcifications in various areas of the body and facilitates itching.
• Anemia. The kidney manufactures erythropoietin, a substance necessary for the manufacture of red blood cells. In kidney failure, not enough erythropoietin is produced and, as a consequence, anemia occurs.
• Bone problems (renal osteodystrophy). The kidney is the organ where vitamin D is activated, a hormone necessary for calcium to be deposited in the bones. If the kidney does not work well, there is not enough active vitamin D and the bones become decalcified.
• Cardiovascular disease Patients with kidney failure frequently develop cardiovascular complications (myocardial infarction, angina pectoris, stroke, transient ischemic attack, peripheral arterial disease, etc.). In fact, cardiovascular complications are the leading cause of death in these patients.
• Other alterations. In addition to those previously discussed, patients with chronic kidney failure can present various complications of the brain, heart, and joints, etc.

How is the disease diagnosed?

The diagnosis of suspected chronic kidney failure occurs when observing an elevation of creatinine and urea in the blood. These alterations must be confirmed with successive analyzes. Glomerular filtration, that is, the kidney’s ability to filter waste from the body, must then be calculated.

Glomerular filtration is the best marker of the severity of kidney failure. The lower said filtering, the worse the situation of the kidneys, says the Kidney Specialist in Delhi.

The diagnosis of the cause of chronic kidney failure is sometimes very obvious, for example in patients with diabetes, but at other times it requires additional studies such as new blood or urine tests, ultrasound, CT or MRI of the kidneys and sometimes a kidney biopsy.

Chronic Kidney Failure Treatments

According to the Best Kidney Specialist in Delhi, Patients with chronic kidney failure should maintain a special diet (diet in patients with chronic kidney failure). In the initial stages, when the kidney still maintains a certain degree of function, treatment consists of preventing renal deterioration from continuing or making it slower, and treating all the symptoms and complications that appear:

• Arterial hypertension. Medicines should be used to adequately control blood pressure. In general, combinations of several of them are usually necessary, being appropriate to use, if there are no contraindications, medicines that block the renin angiotensin system. It is convenient to maintain a blood pressure close to 130 mmHg high (systolic) and 80 mmHg low (diastolic).
• Increased potassium. In patients with high potassium in the blood, a diet low in potassium (potassium content of food) should be recommended and, if it persists high, treat with medicines that prevent its absorption from the intestine, such as resincolestyramine.
• Increased phosphorus. A diet low in phosphorus should be followed and, if necessary, medicines that reduce its absorption in the intestine can be used.
• Anemia. Depending on the intensity of the anemia, treatment with iron and erythropoietin injected under the skin is recommended.
• Bone problems (renal osteodystrophy). Treatment with calcium and active forms of vitamin D.

In advanced situations, when symptomatic treatment does not help to control one or more of these alterations, and in general when glomerular filtration rate drops below 15 ml / min / 1.73 m2, there is an indication for Dialysis in Delhi (hemodialysis or dialysis peritoneal) or to perform a kidney transplant in Delhi.

In addition to these treatments, it is important that patients adequately control the disease that has led to the development of kidney failure, such as diabetes, high blood pressure, kidney infections, etc.

Patients with kidney failure are at high risk of cardiovascular complications. For this reason, it is essential that they do not smoke, that they maintain a diet low in fat and cholesterol and that they receive medicines to lower cholesterol, recommends the Top Nephrologist in Delhi.

Chronic kidney failure patients are at increased risk for infections, so they should get vaccinated against influenza and pneumococcus every year, says the nephrologist in Delhi.