Renal System 🫘 Flashcards
What is metabolic acidosis commonly classified according to?
Anion gap
Metabolic acidosis is categorized into normal anion gap and raised anion gap.
What are some causes of normal anion gap metabolic acidosis? (4)
- Gastrointestinal bicarbonate loss: diarrhoea, ureterosigmoidostomy, fistula
- Renal tubular acidosis
- Drugs: e.g. acetazolamide, ammonium chloride injection
- Addison’s disease
What conditions are associated with raised anion gap metabolic acidosis? (4)
- Lactate: shock, hypoxia
- Ketones: diabetic ketoacidosis, alcohol
- Urate: renal failure
- Acid poisoning: salicylates, methanol
What causes metabolic alkalosis?
- Loss of hydrogen ions
- Gain of bicarbonate
It is mainly due to problems of the kidney or gastrointestinal tract.
List some causes of metabolic alkalosis.
- Vomiting / aspiration
- Diuretics
- Liquorice, carbenoxolone
- Hypokalaemia
- Primary hyperaldosteronism
- Cushing’s syndrome
- Bartter’s syndrome
- Congenital adrenal hyperplasia
What conditions may lead to respiratory acidosis?
- COPD
- Decompensation in respiratory conditions (e.g. life-threatening asthma, pulmonary oedema)
- Sedative drugs: benzodiazepines, opiate overdose
What are common causes of respiratory alkalosis?
- Anxiety leading to hyperventilation
- Pulmonary embolism
- Salicylate poisoning
- CNS disorders: stroke, subarachnoid haemorrhage, encephalitis
- Altitude
- Pregnancy
What is the most commonly isolated pathogen in acute bacterial prostatitis?
Escherichia coli
What are risk factors for acute bacterial prostatitis?
- Recent urinary tract infection
- Urogenital instrumentation
- Intermittent bladder catheterisation
- Recent prostate biopsy
What are the features of acute bacterial prostatitis?
- Pain referred to perineum, penis, rectum, or back
- Obstructive voiding symptoms
- Fever and rigors
- Tender, boggy prostate gland on digital rectal examination
What accounts for 25% of drug-induced acute kidney injury?
Acute interstitial nephritis
List some common causes of acute interstitial nephritis.
- Drugs: particularly antibiotics (e.g. penicillin, rifampicin, NSAIDs, allopurinol, furosemide)
- Systemic disease: SLE, sarcoidosis, Sjogren’s syndrome
- Infection: Hanta virus, staphylococci
What are the histological features of acute interstitial nephritis?
Marked interstitial oedema and interstitial infiltrate in the connective tissue between renal tubules
What are common symptoms of tubulointerstitial nephritis with uveitis (TINU)?
- Fever
- Weight loss
- Painful, red eyes
How is acute kidney injury (AKI) characterized?
Reduction in renal function following an insult to the kidneys
What percentage of hospitalized patients develop acute kidney injury (AKI)?
Approximately 15%
What are the traditional categories of causes of AKI?
- Prerenal
- Intrinsic
- Postrenal
What are examples of prerenal causes of AKI?
- Hypovolaemia secondary to diarrhoea/vomiting
- Renal artery stenosis
What intrinsic causes may lead to AKI?
- Glomerulonephritis
- Acute tubular necrosis (ATN)
- Acute interstitial nephritis (AIN)
- Rhabdomyolysis
- Tumour lysis syndrome
What are examples of postrenal causes of AKI?
- Kidney stone in ureter or bladder
- Benign prostatic hyperplasia
- External compression of the ureter
What are risk factors for acute kidney injury (AKI)?
- Chronic kidney disease
- Other organ failure/chronic disease
- History of acute kidney injury
- Use of nephrotoxic drugs
- Age 65 years or over
- Oliguria
- Neurological or cognitive impairment
What are two key ways AKI may be detected?
- Reduced urine output (oliguria)
- Fluid overload
What blood tests are commonly used to detect AKI?
- Sodium
- Potassium
- Urea
- Creatinine
What criteria can be used to diagnose acute kidney injury (AKI)?
- Rise in serum creatinine of 26 micromol/litre or greater within 48 hours
- 50% or greater rise in serum creatinine within the past 7 days
- Fall in urine output to less than 0.5 ml/kg/hour for more than 6 hours
What is the management approach for AKI?
Supportive management focusing on careful fluid balance and reviewing medications
Which drugs should be stopped in AKI as they may worsen renal function? (8)
- NSAIDs
- Aminoglycosides
- ACE inhibitors
- Angiotensin II receptor antagonists
- Diuretics
- Metformin
- Lithium
- Digoxin
What is the role of renal replacement therapy in AKI?
Used when a patient is not responding to medical treatment of complications
What are the phases of acute tubular necrosis (ATN)?
- Oliguric phase
- Polyuric phase
- Recovery phase
What is the most common inherited cause of kidney disease?
Autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD)
What are the two disease loci identified in ADPKD?
- PKD1
- PKD2
What are the ultrasound diagnostic criteria for ADPKD in patients with a positive family history?
- Two cysts, unilateral or bilateral, if aged < 30 years
- Two cysts in both kidneys if aged 30-59 years
- Four cysts in both kidneys if aged > 60 years
What is a common acute phase protein measured in acutely unwell patients?
CRP
What are some examples of acute phase proteins?
- CRP
- Procalcitonin
- Ferritin
- Fibrinogen
- Alpha-1 antitrypsin
- Caeruloplasmin
- Serum amyloid A
- Serum amyloid P component
- Haptoglobin
- Complement
What are the two types of Autosomal Dominant Polycystic Kidney Disease (ADPKD)?
ADPKD type 1 and ADPKD type 2
ADPKD type 1 accounts for 85% of cases, while type 2 accounts for 15%.
What chromosome is associated with ADPKD type 1?
Chromosome 16
What chromosome is associated with ADPKD type 2?
Chromosome 4
What is the screening investigation for relatives of ADPKD patients?
Abdominal ultrasound
What are the ultrasound diagnostic criteria for ADPKD in patients with a positive family history aged < 30 years?
Two cysts, unilateral or bilateral
What are the ultrasound diagnostic criteria for ADPKD in patients aged 30-59 years?
Two cysts in both kidneys
What are the ultrasound diagnostic criteria for ADPKD in patients aged > 60 years?
Four cysts in both kidneys
What medication may be used for select patients with ADPKD?
Tolvaptan
What are the features of ADPKD?
- Hypertension
- Recurrent UTIs
- Flank pain
- Haematuria
- Palpable kidneys
- Renal impairment
- Renal stones
What is the most common extra-renal manifestation of ADPKD?
Liver cysts
What percentage of ADPKD patients develop liver cysts?
70%
What is Alport’s syndrome usually inherited as?
X-linked dominant pattern
What defect causes Alport’s syndrome?
Defect in the gene coding for type IV collagen
What are common features of Alport’s syndrome?
- Microscopic haematuria
- Progressive renal failure
- Bilateral sensorineural deafness
- Lenticonus
- Retinitis pigmentosa
What is the characteristic finding in renal biopsy for Alport’s syndrome?
Longitudinal splitting of the lamina densa of the glomerular basement membrane
What is amyloidosis?
Extracellular deposition of an insoluble fibrillar protein termed amyloid
What is the most common form of amyloidosis?
AL amyloidosis
What precursor protein is associated with AL amyloidosis?
Immunoglobulin Light chain fragments
What diagnostic test shows apple-green birefringence in amyloidosis?
Congo red staining
What is the normal range for anion gap?
8-14 mmol/L
What are causes of normal anion gap metabolic acidosis?
- Gastrointestinal bicarbonate loss
- Renal tubular acidosis
- Drugs (e.g. acetazolamide)
- Addison’s disease
What is Anti-glomerular basement membrane (GBM) disease commonly known as?
Goodpasture’s syndrome
What are the main features of Anti-GBM disease?
- Pulmonary haemorrhage
- Rapidly progressive glomerulonephritis
What is the main complication of Anti-GBM disease?
Pulmonary haemorrhage
What is the cause of Autosomal Recessive Polycystic Kidney Disease (ARPKD)?
Defect in a gene located on chromosome 6 which encodes fibrocystin
What are the risk factors for Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (BPH)?
- Age
- Ethnicity (black > white > Asian)
What are the storage symptoms associated with BPH?
- Urgency
- Frequency
- Nocturia
What is the International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS) range for severely symptomatic patients?
20-35
What is the most common type of bladder cancer?
Urothelial (transitional cell) carcinoma
What is the primary risk factor for urothelial carcinoma of the bladder?
Smoking
What is the staging classification for bladder cancer associated with no evidence of tumor?
T0
What percentage of patients with T2 bladder cancer are expected to have a good prognosis?
60%
What condition is characterized by recurrent renal stones due to a defect in membrane transport?
Cystinuria
What test is used to diagnose cystinuria?
Cyanide-nitroprusside test
What is a key feature of chronic pyelonephritis?
Scarring of the renal parenchyma
What is the genetic basis for cystinuria?
Defect in the SLC3A1 gene on chromosome 2 and SLC7A9 on chromosome 19
What are the common symptoms of diabetes insipidus?
Decreased secretion of antidiuretic hormone (ADH)
What is the mnemonic for arginine?
COLA
Which chromosomes contain the SLC3A1 and SLC7A9 genes?
Chromosome 2 (SLC3A1), Chromosome 19 (SLC7A9)
What is a classic feature of recurrent renal stones?
They are classically yellow and crystalline, appearing semi-opaque on x-ray
Which test is used for the diagnosis of renal stones?
Cyanide-nitroprusside test
What is the management for renal stones?
- Hydration
- D-penicillamine
- Urinary alkalinization
What characterizes diabetes insipidus (DI)?
Decreased secretion of antidiuretic hormone (ADH) or insensitivity to ADH
What are the causes of cranial diabetes insipidus?
- Idiopathic
- Post head injury
- Pituitary surgery
- Craniopharyngiomas
- Infiltrative diseases (e.g., histiocytosis X, sarcoidosis)
- DIDMOAD syndrome
- Haemochromatosis
What are the causes of nephrogenic diabetes insipidus?
- Genetic mutations affecting ADH receptors or aquaporin 2 channel
- Electrolyte imbalances (e.g., hypercalcaemia, hypokalaemia)
- Lithium
- Demeclocycline
- Tubulo-interstitial disease
What are the main features of diabetes insipidus?
- Polyuria
- Polydipsia
What findings would you expect in the investigation of diabetes insipidus?
High plasma osmolality, low urine osmolality
What is the urine osmolality threshold that excludes diabetes insipidus?
> 700 mOsm/kg
What is a management option for nephrogenic diabetes insipidus?
- Thiazides
- Low salt/protein diet
What is the most common cause of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) in the western world?
Diabetic nephropathy
What percentage of patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus develop diabetic nephropathy by age 40?
33%
What histological changes are associated with diabetic nephropathy?
- Basement membrane thickening
- Capillary obliteration
- Mesangial widening
- Kimmelstiel-Wilson nodules
What are the modifiable risk factors for developing diabetic nephropathy?
- Hypertension
- Hyperlipidaemia
- Smoking
- Poor glycaemic control
- Raised dietary protein
What are the non-modifiable risk factors for developing diabetic nephropathy?
- Male sex
- Duration of diabetes
- Genetic predisposition
What effect do thiazide diuretics have on serum potassium levels?
They decrease serum potassium levels