L6 - Kidney Dysfunction/Disease Flashcards
4 Roles of the Kidney
- Filtration of blood
• Remove wastes
• Maintain appropriate [electrolyte]
• Maintain acid/base balance - Regulation of blood volume and blood pressure
• Kidneys receive 20% cardiac output
• (RAAS and ADH effect on Kidney) - Activation of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (to 1,25dihydroxyvitamin D)
- Production of hormone erythropoietin
• Kidneys sense Reduction in O2 delivery to tissues by blood and releases EPO
What is Kidney Disease/injury?
Abnormality of kidney structure or function that can occur abruptly and resolve or persists and become chronic
- Acute Kidney Injury
- Chronic Kidney Disease
What are the consequences? Compromise in the 4 roles
- Increase in waste in the circulation
- Disequilibrium of fluids and electrolytes
- Decreased vitamin D activation (decreased calcium absorption → hypocalcemia)
- Decreased erythropoiesis (→ anemia)
What are biochemical evaluations of kidney function and structure?
Urine Marker
1. Primary biomarker for kidney damage is urine albumin
• ACR: Urine albumin: Urine Creatinine: < 30 mg/(g of creatinine)
• AER: Urine Albumin/24hr urine collection: <30 mg/24hrs
Serum Marker
2. Primary biomarker for kidney function is glomerular filtration rate (GFR)
• eGRF < 60 mL/min/1.73m2
• Typically estimated (Calculated) from serum creatinine or cystatin measurements
• Indicator of number of functioning nephrons (functional capacity) that enable proper
filtration
Why do we care about eGFR?
- Easily understood by nurses, RT, physicians, others - best overall index
of kidney function in health or disease GRF (< 60 mL/min/1.73m2) - eGFR allows to better account biological variation in creatinine (dependent on muscle mass: age, gender, ethnicity?)
Creatinine
• Waste product from muscle breakdown of creatine
• Produced at daily constant rate and eliminated mostly by glomerular filtration
• Most utilized filtration marker
(Primary marker for evaluating and monitoring renal function (eGFR))
Cystatin
- Alternative endogenous filtration marker;
- Unlike creatinine, it is a protein that is a protease inhibitor (produced by almost all tissues)
- Reduced influences of age, gender, weight, and muscle mass compared to serum creatinine
- Not secreted by proximal tubular cells Immunoassay
Clearance of a substance (e.g. creatinine) from the plasma as it pass through the glomerulus at a given rate
(Urine Creatinine/Serum Creatinine)
×
(Urine Volume (mL)/Collection Time (min))
Measured GFR
by determining clearance rate of exogenous substance (e.g. Iohexol administration by IV)
• Invasive
Estimated GFR
by measuring endogenous substance
• – e.g. serum creatinine (or cystatin)
• Equations that transform serum creatinine into eGFR
• More convenient; no need for urine collection period
Urea- Waste product from protein break down
1) Formed by the liver and excreted by the kidney (40-50% reabsorbed by passive diffusion)
2) If GFR decreased, urea in the blood increases
3) How is it formed? From Ammonia (from protein catabolism) that is converted to urea via urea cycle in the liver.
4) Ammonia is toxic (can cross BBB) and needs to be detoxified by conversion to urea or
elimination thru NH4
Tests to assess kidney function - Why is it useful to measure?
- Increased when kidney function is impaired
* Commonly measured in dialysis patients – addresses dialysis adequacy
Phosphorous
• Kidney are responsible for excretion of excess Phosphates
• Reabsorption occurs in predominantly in the proximal tubules (e.g Na+ dependent phosphate
cotransporters) → balance between intake and outtake
• Kidney function decline leads to decline in PO4(3-) excretion → serum PO4(3-) will rise (Not always seen early stages)
Calcium
- PO4(3-) rise will suppress active form of Vitamin D (1, 25dihyrdroxyvitamin D)
- Decreased in CKD (Not always seen early stages)
Hemoglobin
Anemia develops during CKD
Clinical Significance of Acute Kidney Injury (AKI)
1) Common yet under recognized (1.2 Million people/year)
2) Various etiologies
3) Costly
• Increased length of stay
• Increased risk of mortality
• Increased risk of chronic kidney
disease (CKD)
Diagnostic Criteria of AKI
1) Reduction in urinary output (little to anuria)
2) Increased serum creatinine
• Either of these criteria can be used to define the 3
stages of AKI (1 – 3)
Clinical Management
- Treat the underlying disease
- Discontinue or dose-adjust nephrotoxic drugs
- Treat electrolyte disturbances
- Optimize fluid balance and hemodynamics