ACUTE KIDNEY INJURY Flashcards
What is the definition of acute kidney injury?
An abrupt loss of kidney function that develops within 7 days.
Loss of kidney function is defined as:
Urinary volume of less than 0.5 ml/kg/hour for 6 hours
or
An increase in serum creatinine of more than 0.3 mg/dL over 48 hours or of more than 1.5 baseline over 7 days
How we classify the causes of acute kidney injury?
Pre-renal
Renal
Post-renal
What are the pre-renal causes of acute kidney injury?
Hypovolaemia - eg shock, burns, dehydration, sepsis, haemorrhage
Reduced effective circulating volume - eg heart failure, liver disease
Drugs altering renal haemodynamics - NSAIDs, ACE inhibitors, antihypertensives, ciclosporin
Renal artery stenosis
What are the drugs that can cause pre-renal acute kidney injury?
NSAIDs
ACE inhibitors
Angiotensin receptor blockers
Ciclosporin
What are the renal causes of acute kidney injury?
Acute tubular necrosis - certain drugs and toxins (endogenous and exogenous), prolonged prerenal causes leading to ischaemia, cytokines in response to sepsis
Acute glomerulonephritis
Acute interstitial nephritis - due to drugs, infection (pyelonephritis), hypercalcaemia, multiple myeloma
Vasculitis
Hypertension
Emboli
Acute cortical necrosis - severe shock left untreated
What are the drugs that can lead to acute tubular necrosis and resulting acute kidney injury?
Gentamicin Aciclovir Methotrexate Cimetidine Contrast dye NSAIDs
What are the toxins that can lead to acute tubular necrosis and resulting acute kidney injury?
Myoglobinuria
Lipopolysaccharide in Gram-negative sepsis
What are the drugs that can lead to acute interstitial nephritis and resulting acute kidney injury?
NSAIDs
Ampicillin
Rifampicin
What are the post-renal (obstructive) causes of acute kidney injury?
Bladder outflow obstruction (BPH or urethral strictures)
Retroperitoneal fibrosis
Tumour
Stones
Remember that obstruction must occur in both kidneys or a single functioning kidney for renal failure to occur
What are the clinical features of acute kidney injury?
Uraemia - fatigue, loss of appetite, headache, nausea and vomiting
Flank pain
Hyperkalaemia - dysrhythmias
Fluid imbalance - high or low BP, oedema, pleural effusions, cardiac tamponade
Palpable bladder - obstruction
What investigations might be ordered for someone with suspected acute kidney injury?
Urine tests Blood test - U+Es, creatinine, autoantibodies, complement levels Renal imaging - X-ray and ultrasound ECG Chest X-ray
What might blood tests reveal in someone who presents with acute kidney injury?
Increased plasma urea and creatinine
Increased plasma urate
Increased plasma concentration of potassium
Metabolic acidosis and an increased anion gap
Increased plasma phosphate
Decreased plasma calcium
Decreased plasma sodium
Antinuclear antibodies (ANA)
ANCA
Cryoglobulinaemia
High levels of complement
What might high levels of complement indicate as the underlying cause in someone with acute kidney injury?
SLE-associated nephritis
Type 2 membranoproliferative glomerulonephropathy
Acute glomerulonephritis
In someone with prerenal failure, what is the osmolality of the urine likely to be? Why?
Above 500 mOsm/kg H20 - the renal tubular function is preserved so reabsorption of sodium and water is preserved. ADH also stimulates further uptake of water and hence the osmolality increases.
In someone with acute tubular necrosis, what is the osmolality of the urine likely to be? Why?
Below 350 mOsm/kg H20 - here the renal tubular function is damaged and hence reabsorption of sodium and water is affected so the urine does not become hyperosmolar as in prerenal failure.