Acute Kidney Injury: Causes, Symptoms and Treatment

• Written by Farina Khan

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Afraid of the term acute kidney injury? Want to make yourself aware of all the terminologies related to acute renal deficiency? Or not sure about how the acute kidney injury can be treated? Well, no need to worry anymore. In this blog, we will take you through the meaning of the term acute kidney injury and all the related details like symptoms, stages and causes. Keep reading further to make yourself aware about everything related to the acute kidney injury because prevention is better than cure.

Acute Kidney Injury: Understanding the Terminology

The bean-shaped organ in our body, known as the kidney, plays a vital role. Although the kidney has several functions in our body, the most important and significant one is to eliminate the waste from our body with the balancing of fluids and blood filtration. In easy words, the main function of the kidney is to filter the blood and remove the waste through urination.

As you know the primary function of the kidney, now it is important to understand how to keep it safe and healthy from various diseases like acute kidney injury or renal failure. Before moving further let’s understand what acute renal deficiency is. In simple words, acute kidney injury is the terminology used to describe when one of the kidneys or both the kidneys stop functioning. In other words, when the kidney suddenly stops filtering the blood and isn't able to remove harmful wastes and chemicals from the blood, that sudden failure is known as acute kidney injury or acute renal failure.

Acute kidney injury stages may vary from mild to severe. When a kidney loses its ability of filtration and fails to perform its functions, it may lead to an accumulation of toxins and fluids. Acute renal failure is distinct from chronic kidney diseases that develop gradually over the period of months or years. It is possible to treat acute kidney injury with reversal treatment but timely and instant treatment is required. There are various other ways to treat and prevent acute kidney failure, keep reading further to know more.

Causes of Acute Kidney Injury

Diabetes and high blood pressure are the most common acute kidney injury causes. Unmanaged diabetes is high level of blood sugar and high blood pressure means travelling of blood forcefully through blood vessels. This both can lead to acute renal deficiency and can damage your kidneys and other organs as well. However, acute kidney injury causes can be categorised into three main types.

Pre-renal Cause of Acute Kidney Injury

Approximately 70 percent of acute kidney injury are because of this prerenal cause. Prerenal acute renal deficiency is something when the blood flow to the kidney is reduced. In this condition, the kidney function might be normal but the glomerular filtration may reduce. The common pre renal causes of acute kidney injury include:

• Severe dehydration
• Low blood pressure due to blood loss or shock
• Liver failure
• Heart failure

Intrinsic-renal Cause of Acute Kidney Injury

Intrinsic renal cause is another important category that primarily affects tubular, glomerular, interstitial, or vascular. It is also renowned as acute tubular necrosis that can occur after prolonged ischemia or hospitalisation. The common intrinsic renal causes of acute and chronic kidney injury may include:

• Acute tubular necrosis
• Acute interstitial nephritis
• Glomerulonephritis
• Lupus nephritis

Post-renal Cause of Acute Kidney Injury

Post renal cause of acute kidney injury occurs when there is an obstruction of the urinary flow. And then the intra tubular pressure fluctuates. Some of the post renal acute kidney injury causes include:

• Ureteric obstruction - Stone disease
• Tumour
• Fibrosis
• Ligation during pelvic surgery

Acute Kidney Damage Symptoms

Symptoms of acute kidney disease are so subtle that you may not feel them.. However, ssome of the acute renal failure signs that require your immediate attention include: :

• Swelling in your legs, ankles, and feet
• Feeling drowsy or very tired
• Shortness of breath
• Itching
• Joint pain, swelling
• Loss of appetite
• Feeling Confused
• Inadequate urine discharge
• Throwing up or feeling like you’re going to
• Chest pain or pressure on chest
• Muscle twitching
• Seizures or coma
• Stomach pain
• Back pain
• Fever
• Rash
• Nosebleed

Acute Kidney Injury: Diagnosis

The diagnosis process for acute and chronic kidney injury includes initial physical examination followed by multiple tests such as blood test, urine test, kidney biopsy, and imaging. This may vary depending on your physical examination.

• Blood Test - The blood test will measure various substances in blood like creatinine, urea nitrogen, potassium, and sodium. When the kidneys stop working, the creatinine, urea nitrogen, and sodium level may rise.
• Urine Test - This test helps the doctor to understand the cause and stage of acute renal failure.
• Kidney Biopsy - A small piece of skin has been taken out from the body with the help of the needle to analyse under the microscope. It can clearly identify the acute kidney injury causes. Generally, this test is required when the case is quite unclear.
• Imaging - In case of any abnormalities or kidney obstruction, tests like ultrasonography or CT scan are being done. Arteries or veins can also be tested with the help of this test.

>> Also Read: 4 Valuable Tips That Will Keep Your Kidneys Healthy

Stages of Acute Kidney Injury

The severity of kidney dysfunction may be categorised into five stages. And it always depends on the eGFR as in stage I, the damages are mild; while at stage V kidney stops working completely. Refer to the table below for stages and its conditions.

How to Treat Acute Kidney Injury?

Indeed, the acute kidney injury can be treated depending upon its severity and the stage. However, immediate intervention is really important to avoid the 5th stage of acute kidney injury. Here are some ways with the help of which the acute and chronic kidney binjury treatment can be done and reversed easily.

• Be sure to address the underlying cause. For instance, if the damage is done because of dehydration, intravenous fluids are administered and antibiotics are prescribed for infections.
• Drugs like diuretics are used to help kidneys expel excess fluid and to control potassium and phosphate level.
• In several cases, dialysis may be required for a temporary time period to treat the acute kidney injury .Dialysis helps to remove extra fluid and waste from the kidneys.
• To avoid putting extra strain on the kidneys, patients of acute kidney injury may require to take a low potassium, low sodium, and low protein diet.

How to Prevent Acute Kidney Injury

Prevention is better than cure-Desiderius Erasmus, Dutch philosopher. To be on a safer side, it is really important to follow some right steps and be updated about your kidney health. Here is how you can prevent acute kidney injury:

• Always maintain a well balanced diet.
• Increase intake of fruits like pomegranates, strawberries, blueberries, apples, cherries, and acai berries.
• Always try to stay hydrated and drink lots of water.
• Try to increase the intake of food high in vitamins and nutrients and low in protein.
• Follow a healthy lifestyle; exercise daily, eat healthy, and avoid alcohol.
• Be careful when taking over-the-counter (OTC) pain acute kidney injury medication.

Key Takeaways!!

Kidney is one of the most important organs of the body that helps to remove waste products and filter blood. Acute kidney failure is a scary one but remember it can be reversed with the treatment. If you ever feel the acute kidney injury symptoms, be sure to consult your doctor's advice and mind your lifestyle.

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