Renal failure: Symptoms, Complications, and Treatment

Contents

In this article, we will take a look at:

• What is a renal failure?
• How does renal failure occur?
• Who is prone to renal failure?
• Symptoms of renal failure
• Diagnosis of renal failure
• Complications of renal failure
• Treatment for renal failure

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What is a renal failure?

Kidneys are a pair of organs that are responsible for filtering out the waste products from the body. Not only that, but they also have a role in electrolyte balance maintenance, hormonal regulation, regulation of blood pressure and RBC synthesis. When any of these functions ceases to occur properly, it leads to renal failure. In most people, one kidney fails after the other. If detected in time, it can be either removed or transplanted. In case of acute failure, the patient is required to survive on dialysis or kidney transplantation.

There are 2 types of renal failure:

Acute renal failure: This occurs suddenly. The patient experiences obvious discomfort and pain associated with it. This condition can be treated if diagnosed in time. Medications are usually enough to handle it. But if that fails, dialysis or transplantation also works well.

Chronic renal failure: This one is more dangerous. It takes approximately 3 months to develop and causes permanent damage to the kidneys.

How does renal failure occur?

Renal failure occurs in a number of steps. The glomerular filtration rate is the standard way of gauging the kidney functionality.

Stage 1 with normal or high GFR (GFR > 90 mL/min): The patients seldom realize that they are facing kidney issues. There are no telltale signs. Most get to know about it when they are diagnosed with diabetes or high BP>

Stage 2 Mild CKD (GFR = 60-89 mL/min): Blood may appear in the urine. But in most cases, the patient appears fit and fine.

Stage 3A Moderate CKD (GFR = 45-59 mL/min): Fatigue, fluid retention in the body, kidney pain, insomnia, and urine nature changes are seen in this stage.

Stage 3B Moderate CKD (GFR = 30-44 mL/min): GFR level is 30-44mL/min with blood in urine.

Stage 4 Severe CKD (GFR = 15-29 mL/min): The patient is at risk of developing complications at this stage. Most need to go through dialysis.

Stage 5 End Stage CKD (GFR <15 mL/min): This is the last stage. Apart from all the symptoms mentioned above, the patient‘s kidneys lose all their ability to work on their own. The patient may feel dizziness and hallucinate. Dialysis and kidney transplantation is extremely necessary to keep the patient alive.

Who is prone to renal failure?

You are at a risk of kidney failure if you have:

• Poorly controlled diabetes
• High BP
• Kidney stones
• Family history
• Genetic predisposition
• Smoking habit
• Alcohol consumption habit
• Prostate disease
• Intestinal nephritis
• Reflux nephropathy

What are the symptoms of renal failure? How is renal failure diagnosed?

Here are the signs and symptoms of renal failure:

• Fatigue
• Shortness of breath
• Confusion
• Nausea
• Decreased urine output
• Fluid retention in legs, feet or ankles
• Weakness
• Irregular heartbeat
• Seizures
• Coma in extreme case

Diagnosis 

If your physician feels that you have got some issues with your kidneys, they may suggest you undergo one or more of the following tests to be sure: Urine output measures: In kidney problems, urine output decreases. Keeping a tab on the urine output for 24 hours helps in determining if there is some kidney problem.

Urine tests: Urine tests are the most obvious ones for kidney failure. Glomerular filtration rate and serum creatinine level tell how well your kidneys are working.

Blood tests: Blood tests show the levels of urea and creatinine in your body. Both these substances usually get filtered out in case of normal kidneys.

Their levels rise when the kidneys are diseased.

Imaging tests: Ultrasound and CT scan can also be performed to look at the condition of the kidneys.

Biopsy: The doctor may suggest a biopsy to determine if you have any cancerous growth.

Complications of renal failure

The kidney is the most important organ of the body as it gets rids of the waste products produced. In case of its abnormal functioning, the toxic substances keep piling inside the body. Here is a list of complications that may arise from it:

Permanent kidney damage: If the condition is not diagnosed in time and properly, it can lead to permanent kidney damage.

• Fluid build-up
• Chest pain
• Muscle weakness
• Death

Treatment for renal failure

In case of renal failure, your doctor may opt for one or more of the following treatment procedures:

Injecting IV fluids: If your condition is caused by lack of fluids in the body, the doctor may inject IV fluids to maintain the fluid level. Administration of diuretics: If your kidney condition has given rise to fluid retention, the doctor may go for diuretics to get rid of the extra fluid. Infusion of calcium: Kidney issues lead to accumulation of excess potassium in the body as it fails to filter them out. To counter this, doctors administer calcium.

Dialysis: As a result of faulty kidney functions, the blood becomes toxic. So, dialysis is performed so that the body can function optimally.

Kidney transplantation: If kidney failure leaves your kidneys completely useless, they are transplanted.