Nephrology Flashcards
What are the causes of metabolic acidosis:
Normal anion gap (hyperchloraemic)
- GI bicarbonate loss - diarrhoea, uterosigmoidostomy, fistula
- renal tubular acidosis
- drugs e.g. acetazolamide
- ammonium chloride injection
- Addison’s
Increased anion gap
- lactate: shock, hypoxia
- ketonones: DKA, alcohol
- urate: renal failure
- acid poisoning: salicylates, methanol
Causes of metabolic alkalosis:
Loss of hydrogen ions or gain of bicarbonate due to kidney or GI problems:
- vomiting/aspiration
- diuretics
- liquorice, carbenoxolone
- hypokalaemia
- primary hyperaldosteronism
- Cushing’s syndrome
- Bartter’s syndrome
- congenital adrenal hyperplasia
Causes of respiratory acidosis:
- COPD
- decompensation other resp conditions
- sedatives: benzodiazepines, opiate overdose
Causes of respiratory alkalosis:
- anxiety
- PE
- salicylate poisoning
- CNS disorders: stroke, SAH, encephalitis
- altitude
- pregnancy
What causes type A lactic acidosis?
- sepsis
- shock
- hypoxia
- burns
What causes type B lactic acidosis?
metformin
What are the causes of acute interstitial nephritis?
Drugs:
- penicillin
- rifampicin
- NSAIDs
- allopurinol
- furosemide
- systemic: SLE, sarcoidosis, Sjogren’s
- infection: Hanta virus, staphylococci
What are the features and investigations of acute interstitial nephritis?
- fever, rash, arthralgia
- eosinophilia (casts)
- mild renal impairment
- HTN
- sterile pyuria and white cell casts
Pre-renal causes of AKI:
ischaemia: e.g. hypovolaemia secondary to diarrhoea/vomiting, renal artery stenosis etc.
Renal causes of AKI:
- intrinstc damage to glomeruli, renal tubules or interstitium
e. g. toxins (drugs, contrast), GN, ATN, AIN, rhabdomyolysis, tumour lysis syndrome
Postrenal causes of AKI:
obstruction to urine: e.g. stones, hydronephrosis, external compression etc.
Risk factors of AKI:
- CKD
- other organ failure/chronic disease e.g. HF, liver disease, diabetes
- history of acute AKI
- nephrotoxic drugs: NSAIDs, aminoglycosides, ACEi, ARBs and diuretics in past week
- iodinated contrast agent
- > =65yo
- oliguria (<0.5ml/kg/hr)
Symptoms and detection of AKI:
Symptoms:
- reduced urine output
- pulmonary and peripheral oedema
- arrhythmias (secondary to changes in K+)
- features of uraemia (e.g. pericarditis or encephalopathy)
Detection:
- creatinine increase by >=26micromol/L in 48 hours
- 50% or greater rise in serum creatinine or within 7 days
- reduced urine output <0.5ml/kg/hr for more than 6 hours
- urinalysis
- renal US within 24 hours
Drugs which should be stopped in AKI:
-NSAIDs
-aminoglycosides
-ACEi
-ARB
-diuretics
(metformin, lithium, digoxin)
How do you treat hyperkalaemia e.g. in AKI?
- IV calcium gluconate
- combined insulin/dextrose infusion
- nebulised salbutamol
- calcium resonium (oral or enema)
- loop diuretics
- dialysis
Criteria for diagnosing AKI:
- rise in creatinine of 26micromol/L or more in 48 hours OR
- > =50% rise in creatinine over 7 days OR
- fall in urine output to less than 0.5ml/kg/hour for more than 6 hours in adults (8 in children) OR
- > =25% fall in eGFR in children/young adults in 7 days
When do you refer AKI to a nephrologist?
- renal transplant
- ITU with unknown cause AKI
- vasculitis/GN/tuberointerstitial nephritis/myeloma
- AKI with no known cause
- inadequate response to treatment
- complications of AKI
- stage 3 AKI
- CKD stage 4 or 5
- qualify for renal replacement hyperkalaemia/metabolic acidosis/complications of uraemia/fluid overload (pulmonary oedema)
How can you differentiate between acute and chronic renal failure?
-renal US
-most chronic have bilateral small kidneys
EXCEPT ADPKD, diabetic nephropathy, amyloidosis, HIV associated nephropathy
-chronic has hypocalcaemia due to reduced vit D
What are the types of ADPKD?
Type I: -polycysitn-1 -85% of cases -chromosome 16 -presents with renal failure earlier Type II: -polycystin-2 -chromosome 4
Features and extra renal manifestations of ADPKD:
- HTN
- recurrent UTIs
- abdominal pain
- renal stones
- haematuria
- CKD
- extra-renal: liver cysts, berry aneurysms (SAH), mitral valve prolapse, mitral/tricuspid incompetence, aortic root dilation, aortic dissection
- cysts in other organs: pancreas, spleen, rarely thyroid, oesophagus and ovary
How do you manage ADPKD:
- tolvaptan (vasopressin receptor 3 antagonist)
- if CKD stage II or III, evidence of rapidly progressing disease
What is Alport’s syndrome? (incl features)
- x-linked dominant
- defect gene coding for type IV collagen (abnormal GBM)
- more severe in males
- presents in childhood
Features:
- mircoscopic haematuria
- progressive renal failure
- bilateral sensorineural deafness
- leticonus
- retinitis pigmentosa
- renal biopsy: splitting of lamina densa
What is Amyloidosis?
- extracellular deposition of insoluble fibrillar protein - amyloid
- also apolipoprotein E and heparin sulphate proteoglycans
- accumulation of amyloid fibrils - tissue/organ dysfunction
How do you diagnose amyloidosis?
- congo red staining - apple-green birefringence
- serum amyloid precursor scan
- biopsy of rectal tissue
What is an anion gap?
(sodium+potassium) - (bicarbonate+chloride)
normal: 8-14mmol/L
What is anti-GBM disease?
- Goodpasture’s
- rare, small vessel vasculitis
- associated with pulmonary haemorrhage and rapidly progressive GN
- antibodies against type IV collagen
- more common in men 2:1
- HLA DR2
How do you test for and manage anti-GBM disease?
- renal biopsy: linear IgG deposits along BM
- increased transfer factor secondary to pulmonary haemorrhages
- manage with: plasma exchange, steroids, cyclophosphamide
What increases the risk of pulmonary haemorrhage in anti-GBM?
- smoking
- lower RTI
- pulmonary oedema
- inhalation of hydrocarbons
- young males
What is ARPKD?
- autosomal recessive version
- much less common
- defect in gene on chromosome 6 which encodes fibrocytin
- end stage renal failure in childhood
- liver involvement (portal and interlobular fibrosis)
- renal biopsy shows multiple cylindrical lesions
- diagnosis on prenatal US: abdominal masses and renal failure, consistent with Potter’s syndrome secondary to oligohydramnios
Complications of AV fistulae?
- infection
- thrombosis (absence of bruit)
- stenosis (acute limb pain)
- steal syndrome
What is diabetes insipidus and what are the features and investigation?
- either deficiency of ADH (cranial) or insensitivity to ADH (nephrogenic)
- polyuria and polydipsia
- increased plasma osmolality and decreased urine osmolality
- urine osmolality >700mOsm/kg excludes DI
- water deprivation test
What causes cranial diabetes insipidus and what is the management?
-idiopathic
-post HI
-pituitary surgery
-craniopharyngiomas
-histiocytosis X
-DIDMOAD (Wolfram’s syndrome)
-haemochromatosis
manage with desmopressin
What are the causes of nephrogenic diabetes insipidus and the management?
-genetic (ADH receptor or aquaporin 2 channel)
-electrolytes (hypercalcaemia and hypokalaemia)
-drugs: demeclocycline, lithium
-tubulo-interstitial disease: obstruction, sickle cell, pyelonephritis
manage with thiazides, low salt/protein diet
Side effects of erythropoietin therapy and indication:
-used for anaemia associated with CKD can cause: -accelerated HTN - encephalopathy and seizures -bone aches -flu-like -skin rashes, urticaria -pure red cell aplasia -increased PCV - thrombosis -iron deficiency secondary to increased erythropoiesis
Why might someone be unresponsive to erythropoietin therapy?
- iron deficiency
- inadequate dose
- concurrent infection/inflammation
- hyperparathyroid bone disease
- aluminium toxicity
What is Fanconi syndrome, features and causes?
- generalised reabsorptive disorder of renal tubular transport in the proximal convoluted tubule
- polyuria, type II RTA, aminoaciduria, glycosuria, phosphaturia, osteomalacia
- causes: cystinosis, Sjogren’s, multiple myeloma, nephrotic syndrome, Wilson’s
What is fibromuscular dysplasia?
- renal artery stenosis secondary to atherosclerosis
- 90% female
- causes HTN, CKD and flash pulmonary oedema
Maintenance fluids:
- 25-30ml/kg/day water
- 1mmol/kg/day of potassium, sodium and chloride
- 50-100g/day of glucose to limit starvation ketosis
What is the risk of using large volumes of NaCl 0.9%?
increased risk of hyperchloraemic metabolic acidosis
In which patients is Hartmann’s contraindicated?
hyperkalaemic patients
What is focal segmental glomerulosclerosis and the causes?
- causes nephrotic syndrome and CKD
- young adults
- idiopathic
- secondary to other renal pathology
- HIV
- heroin
- Alport’s syndrome
- sickle cell
- high recurrence rate in renal transplants
What are the investigations and management for focal segmental glomerulosclerosis?
- renal biopsy: focal and segmental sclerosis and hyalinosis, effacement of foot processes
- manage with steroids (and immunosuppressants)
Causes of transient or spurious non-visible haematuria:
- UTI
- menstruation
- vigorous exercise (resolves in 3 days)
- sexual intercourse
Spurious causes of haematuria (red/orange urine)
- beetroot, rhubarb
- rifampicin
- doxorubicin
Urgen referral criteria for haematuria:
- > =45yo with unexplained visible haematuria without UTI or visible haemautria that persists after successful treatment of UTI
- > =65yo and unexplained non-visible haematuria and dysuria or increased WCC
Non-urgent referral criteria for haematuria:
- > =60yo with recurrent or persistent unexplained UTI
- <40yo with normal renal function, no proteinuria and normotensive (no referral - manage in primary care)
Presentation of HUS:
- triad: AKI, microangiopathic haemolytic anaemia, thrombocytopaenia
- bloody diarrhoea few days after onset
- most cases secondary to:
- shiga toxin producing e-coli (STEC) O157:H7 - most common in children
- pneumococcal infection
- HIV
- rare: SLE, drugs, cancer
- primary HUS - atypical - complement dysregulation
Management of HUS:
- supportive e.g. dialysis, fluids, blood transfusion
- no Abx
- eculixumab - C5 inhibitor monoclonal antibody