Renal Flashcards
What is an acute kidney injury?
-An abrupt loss of kidney function (within 48 hours) resulting in the retention of urea and other waste products = dysregulation of extracellular volume and electrolytes
What are the 3 criteria that defines AKI?
- Increase in serum creatinine of >26.4μmol/L above baseline
- Increase in serum creatinine of >50%
- Oliguira <0.5mL/kg/hr for >6hr
Who are high risk patients for AKI?
- CKD
- Diabetics
- Diffuse atherosclerotic disease
- CCF
- Multiple myeloma
- Elderly
How can the causes of AKI be classified?
- Pre-renal
- Renal
- Post renal
What are the pre renal causes of AKI?
- Volume depletion ie bleeding, D+V, burns
- Oedematous states ie Cardiac failure, cirrhosis, neprhotic syndrome
- Hyptension ie sepsis, shock
- CV
- Medications ie NSAID, COX-2, ACEi, ARB
What are the renal causes of AKI?
- Glomoerular disease ie glomerulonephritis, thrombosis
- Tubular injury ie prolonged ischaemia, nephrotoxins
- Acute interstitial nephritis ie drugs, infection, autoimmune disease
- Vascular disease ie Polyarteritis nodosa, vasculitis, renal artery stenosis
- Eclampsia
What are the post renal causes of AKI?
- Prostatic hypertrophy
- Calculus
- Blood clot
- Urethral stricture
- Tumour
- Pelvic malignancy
- Radiation fibrosis
What are the drugs known to cause AKI?
- NSAIDS
- gentamycin
- antifungals
- antivirals
- radio-iodine contrast
Who is most commonly affected by AKI?
-Elderly
What are risk factors for AKI?
- Age >65
- CKD with eGFR <60
- Past history of AKI
- CO-existing illness eg cardiac failure, liver disease, diabetes
- Neuroimpairment
- Hypovolaemia
- Symptoms of urological obstruction
- Sepsis
- Use of contrast
- Nephrotoxic Medications
- Perioperative period
How does AKI present?
-Decreasing urine volume and rise in serum creatinine
What are symptoms of an AKI?
- Decrease in urine output ie oliguria, anuria
- Nausea and vomiting
- Dehydration
- Confusion
What are signs of AKI?
- Hypertension
- Large painless bladder
- Fluid overload: ^JVP, pulmonary and peripheral oedema
- Postural hypotension and dehydration
- Pallor, rash, bruising
What investigations are required for an AKI?
- Urinalysis and urine microscopy
- Creatinine blood test along with other normals
- Blood film
- Immunology ie bence jones protein, ANCA, complement
- US (if obstruction suspected)
- Other radiology for systemic disease
- BIOPSY
How does CKD differ from AKI?
CKD:
- long duration of symptoms
- nocturia
- absence of illness
- anaemia
- hyperphosphatemia
- reduced renal size
How is AKI managed?
-Supportive treatment: >treat underlying cause >stop nephrotoxic drugs >monitor fluid and electrolytes >treat acute complications ie K+^, acidosis, pulmonary oedema, bleeding
What are the indications for dialysis (renal replacement therapy)
- Hyperkalaemia
- Pulmonary oedema refractory to medical management
- Severe metabolic acidaemia due to kidney failure
- Progressive renal failure (^creatinine)
- Uraemic complications ie pericarditis, altered mental state)
- Fluid overload
- Renal transplant
- CKD 4 or 5
What is the management bundle for AKI?
- Haemodynamic restoration (fluids and inotropes)
- Treatment of K+
- Input/output charting and frequent obs
- Urinalysis
- Stop nephrotoxins, drugs with haemodynamic effect, reduce doses of renally excreted drugs
What is CKD?
-Abnormal kidney function ie eGFR <60ml/min/1.73m^2 for longer than 3 months
or
-Kidney damage
What is are risk factors for CKD?
- Increasing age
- Diabetes
- CVD
- Proteinuria
- AKI
- Hypertension
- Smoking
- African, afro-carribean or asian ethnicity
- Chronic use of NSAIDs
- Untreated outflow obstruction
Classification of CKD?
- Stage 1: normal - eGFR >90 ml/minute/1.73 m2 with other evidence of chronic kidney damage (see below).
- Stage 2: mild impairment - eGFR 60-89 ml/minute/1.73 m2 with other evidence of chronic kidney damage.
- Stage 3a: moderate impairment - eGFR 45-59 ml/minute/1.73 m2.
- Stage 3b: moderate impairment - eGFR 30-44 ml/minute/1.73 m2.
- Stage 4: severe impairment - eGFR 15-29 ml/minute/1.73 m2.
- Stage 5: established renal failure (ERF) - eGFR less than 15 ml/minute/1.73 m2 or on dialysis.
What persistent findings may indicate CKD?
- Persistent microalbuminuria
- Persistent proteinuria
- Persistent haematuria
- Structural abnormalities ie PCKD
- Biopsy proven glomerulonephritis
How does CKD present?
- Usually incidentally on a routine blood or urine test
- Long/progressive disease
What are the symptoms of severe CKD?
Anorexia Nausea Vomiting Fatigue Pruritus Peripheral oedema Dyspnoea Insomnia Muscle cramps Pulmonary oedema Nocturia Headache Sexual dysfunction Very severe Hiccups Pericarditis Coma Seizures
What are risk factors that require screening for CKD?
-AKI
-CVD
>ischaemic heart disease, chronic HF, PAD, Cerebral vascular disease
-Structural renal tract disease, prostatic hypertrophy
-Multisystem disease ie SLE
-FHX of CKD
Investigations of CKD?
-eGFR
-Biochemistry: k+^, bicarb low, phosphate high
-Haematology: anaemia
-Serology: >autoantibodies: ANA, c-ANCA, p-ANCA, anti-GBM
>Hepatitis
>HIV
-Urinalysis
-Imaging: renal US
-Retrograde pyelogram
-Renal radionuclide scan
-CT (Renal artery stenosis)
-Biopsy
Management of CKD?
- Explanation and education
- Medication review
- Monitoring of eGFR
- Immunise against influenza and pneumococcus
- CVD prevention and blood pressure control
- Advice for nutrition and physical exercise
- Manage and monitor bone and mineral disorders and treat with vit d supplementation if required
- Treat hyperphosphataemia with calcium acetate
- Renal replacement therapy if required
When should a patient with CKD be referred?
- GFR <30ml/minute/1.73m2 - with or without diabetes
- ACR >70mg/mmol - unless already known to be caused by DM and being treated
- ACR >30mg/mmol with haematuria
- Sustained decrease in GFR of 25%+ within 12 months
- Hypertension poorly controlled despite >4 drugs
- Known or suspected rate or genetic causes of CKD
- Suspected renal artery stenosis
What are some potential complication of CKD?
- Anaemia
- Coagulopathy
- Hypertension
- Calcium phosphate loading: cardiovascular disease, arthropathy, soft tissue calcification
- Renal osteodystrophy: disorders of calcium, phosphorus and bone
- Bone changes of secondary hyperparathyroidism
- Neurological: uraemic encephalopathy, neuropathy
- Dialysis amyloid: bone pain, arthropathym carpal tunnel syndrome
- Fluid overload: pulmonary oedema, hypertension
- Malnutrition: increased mortality and morbidity, poor wound healing, infections
- Glucose intolerance due to peripheral insulin resistance
What is hyperkalaemia?
-Plasma potassium >5.5mmol/L
What are the different severities of potassium and when do the blood tests need to be repeated?
-Mild: .5-5.9 >recheck in a week -Moderate: 6.0-6.4 >recheck next week -Severe: >6.5 >requires urgent investigation
Mechanisms of action causing hyperkalaemia:
- Renal causes: decreased excretion of drugs
- Increased circulation of potassium
- A shift from intracellular to the extracellular space
- Pseudohyperkalaemia
When is the greatest risk to experience hyper/hypokalaemia?
-At the extreme ends of age
What are the renal causes of hyperkalaemia?
- AKI
- CKD
- Hyperkalaemic renal tubular acidosis
- Mineralocorticoid deficiency
- Medicines that interfere with RAAS
What drugs can cause hyperkalaemia?
- ACEi
- ARBs
- NSAIDs
- Heparin
- Ciclosporin
- Tacrolimus
- Pentamidine
- Co-trimaxazole
- Herbal remedies
What are the exogenous causes of increased potassium?
- Potassium supplementation
- Increased food consumption of soft fruit, veg, chocolate, coffee
What are the endogenous causes of increased potassium?
- tumour lysis syndrome
- rhabdomyloysis
- trauma
- burns
- crush syndrome
What causes pseudohyperkalaemia?
- Prolonged tourniquet time
- Difficulty collecting sample
- Clenched fist
- Test tube haemolysis
- Use of wrong haemolysis
- Excessive cooling of specimen
- Length of storage of specimen
- Marked leukocytosis and thrombocytosis
How does hyperkalaemia present?
- Non-specific: weakness and fatigue
- Muscular paralysis or SOB, chest pain, palpitations
- Bradycardia
- Tachypnoea from resp weakness
- Flaccid paralysis
- Depressed tendon reflexes
What investigations are required for hyperkalaemia?
- 24hr urine volume and electrolytes
- FBC
- Capillary blood glucose
- ABG
What are the ECG findings of hyperkalaemia?
- Tall tented T waves (in all chest leads)
- Reduced/loss of P wave
- Widening of QRS
When are cardiac conduction disturbances most likely when caused by hyperkalaemia?
-When there is a rapid rise of potassium
How is hyperkalaemia managed?
- Calcium gluconate 10% - 10mls - over 1-2 minutes
- Insulin immediate release and dextrose 10%
What is hypokalaemia?
<3.5 mmol/L
What are the severities of hypokalaemia?
- Mild: 3.1-3.5mmol/L
- Moderate: 2.5-3.0mmol/L
- Severe: <2.5mmol/L
What are most cases of hypokalaemia caused by?
-Diuretic consumption or loss of GI fluids through vomiting, chronic diarrhoea or laxative abuse.
What are the causes of hypokalaemia?
- Increased loss
- Transcellular shift
- Decreased intake of potassium
- Misc
What causes increased potassium loss via the kidney?
- Thiazide/loop diuretics
- Renal tubular acidosis
- Hypomagnesaemia
- Hyperaldosteronism
- Tubulointerstitial renal disease
- Excess liquorice ingestion
- Activation of RAAS system
What causes increased potassium loss via the GI tract?
- Diarrhoea
- Vomiting
- Intestinal fistulae
- Villous adenoma
- Pyloric stenosis
- Laxative abuse
- Bowel prep
What causes increased potassium loss via the skin?
- Burns
- Erythroderma
- Increased sweating
- Increased loss in sweat ie CF
What are the transcellular shift causes of hypokalaemia?
- Alkalosis
- Insulin and glucose administration
- Calcium channel blockers
- Hypothermia
What are the causes of decreased potassium intake?
- Inadequate potassium replacement on IV fluids whilst NBM
- Total parenteral nutrition
- Malnutrition
- Anorexia nervosa
How does hypokalaemia present?
- Generally asymptomatic
- General fatigue
- Generalised weakness
- Muscle pain
- Constipation
- Incidental findings
How does severe hypokalaemia present?
-Severe muscle paralysis
>lower extremities moving upwards
What bloods are needed for hypokalaemia?
-Bloods: >U&E, Bicarb, glucose, chloride, Mg -ECG: >Flat t waves, St depression, U waves, Ventricular arrhythmias -Urine test >urinary K+, NA+, osmolality
What is the management for hypokalaemia?
- Primary care for 2.5-3.0: compare with previous results, ECG, oral potassium replacement. –>40-120mmol/day
- TARGET: 4.5mmol/L
What electrolyte needs to managed before others can be corrected?
-Magnesium
What is secondary care management for hypokalaemia?
- Oral dose of 20-40mol K+ 2-4 times daily
- IV KCL via peripheral line
What are the complications of hypokalaemia?
- Arrhythmias, sudden cardiac death
- Muscle weakness
- Abnormal renal function
- Iatrogenic hyperkalaemia
- Digoxin toxicity
How is calcium regulated within the body?
-Reduction in serum calcium stimulates PTH
>increases bone resorption
>increases renal calcium reabsorption
>stimulates renal conversion of 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 to 1,25 dihydroxyvitamin D3 (increases intestinal calcium absorption)
>negative feedback
What should serum calcium be?
2.25-2.5mol/L
Why should you use corrected (unbound) calcium?
-Not bound to albumin so free to take part in cellular activities such as neuromuscular contraction, coagulation
What is hypercalcaemia?
Calcium >2.5
What is the most common cause of hypercalcaemia?
-Primary hyperparathyroidism
>usually in postmenopausal women
Mneumonic for hypercalcaemic presentation?
- STONES
- BONES
- GROANS
- MOANS
What symptoms may someone experience if they have hypercalcaemia?
- Polyuria/polydypsia
- Depression
- Cognitive impairment
- Muscle weakness
- Constipation
- Anorexia
- Abdominal pain
- Vomiting
- Dehydration
- Coma
What are the PTH mediated causes of hypercalcaemia?
-Primary hyperparathyroidism
What are the non-PTH mediated causes of hypercalcaemia?
- Malignancy
- Granulomatous conditions ie sarcoidosis
- Endocrine conditions ie thyrotoxicosis
- Drugs ie thiazide diuretics, vit A and D supplements
What are the 4 mechanisms that malignancy causes hypercalcaemia?
- Ectopic production of PTH related peptide by tumour cells
- Osteolytic hypercalcaemia
- Ectopic calcitriol
- Ectopic PTH produced by tumour cells
What imaging investigations are required for hypercalcaemia?
- X ray: bony abnormalities
- US/CT: urogenital tract imaging >stones or calcification
What bony abnormalities may be detected by xray in someone with hypercalcaemia?
- Demineralisation
- Bone cyts
- Bony metastases
- Pathological fractures
What is the acute management of hypercalcaemia?
- Increase circulating volume with 0.9% saline
- Bisphosphonates
- Glucocorticoids
What is the management of asymptomatic hypercalcaemia?
- Conservative treatment with regular bone density monitoring, renal function, serum and urinary calcium levels
- regular mobilisation
What is the management of symptomatic hypercalcaemia?
Removal of parathyroid gland if impaired renal function, hypercalciuria, low bone mineral density, severe hypercalcaemia