Renal, Urinary Systems & Electrolytes Flashcards
Patients with chronic diabetes mellitus > 10 years can develop:
- 3.
- Microangiopathy
- Nephropathy
- Glomerulosclerosis
What are the risk factors for the development of diabetic nephropathy?
- Poor glycemic control
- Elevated blood pressure
- Smoking
- Increasing age
- Race (Black, Mexican American)
Clinical findings for:
Diabetic nephropathy
- Mild-Moderate proteinuria
2. Chronic kidney disease (elevated creatinine)
Diagnosis:
- Flank pain
- Low-volume voids with or without occasional high-volume voids
Obstructive uropathy
Define post-obstructive diuresis?
Post-obstructive diuresis is when a high-volume urination occurs due to a large volume of retained urine overcoming an obstruction.
What are the consequences of obstructive uropathy in a patient with:
- One kidney
- Two kidneys
- Acute renal failure
2. Post-obstructive diuresis
What are the consequences of recurrent vomiting?
- Depletion of fluid acid
- Depletion of sodium chloride
- Metabolic acidosis
- Activation of RAAS
- Increased urinary potassium loss
Treatment:
Initial treatment for recurrent vomiting in a patient with hypokalemia
Normal Saline + Potassium
Hypokalemic, hypochloremic metabolic alkalosis
Recurrent vomiting
Signs and Symptoms:
Nephritic glomerulonephritis
- Urinary sediment with: RBCs, occasional WBCs, Red cell casts or mixed cellular casts
- Edema
What is the cause of edema in nephritic glomerulonephritis?
Decreased GFR and retention of sodium and water by the kidneys
Why is infusion rate important for chronic kidney disease patients receiving sodium nitroprusside?
Prolonged infusion of sodium nitroprusside at high rates can lead to cyanide toxicity, especially in patients with chronic kidney disease.
What medication leads to cyanide toxicity if infused for too long and too fast?
Sodium nitroprusside; DO NOT infused for long than 24 hours or at rates >2ug/kg/min.
Potent arterial and venous dilator used to treat hypertensive emergencies.
Patients with chronic kidney disease are at a high risk for this infusion associated toxicity.*
Clinical Presentation:
- Headache
- Confusion
- Arrhythmia
- Flushing
- Respiratory depression
Cyanide toxicity
Treatment:
Hyperkalemia with ECG changes
Calcium gluconate OR calcium chloride followed by
IV insulin + Definitive treatment (cation exchange resin, dialysis)
Treatment:
Temporary treatment for hyperkalemia
IV insulin+glucose –> works the fastest
Beta-agonists (eg, albuterol)
First give calcium gluconate to stabilize the cardiac membrane.
**These agents shift K intracellularly and lower serum K+. **
Treatment:
Definitive treatment for hyperkalemia
- Cation exchange resin (eg, sodium polystyrene sulfonate)
- Dialysis
- First give calcium gluconate to stabilize the cardiac membrane.*
- *These agents decrease the total body K+ content. **
What ECG findings are associated with hyperkalemia of the following levels:
K+= 6-7 mEq/L K+= 7-8 mEq/L K+= >8 mEq/L
K+= 6-7 mEq/L
- Prolonged PR interval
- Tall peaked T wave
K+= 7-8 mEq/L
- Loss of P wave
- ST elevation
- Tall peaked T wave
K+= >8 mEq/L
- Widened QRS (sine wave pattern)
- AV node block
- Fascicle and BB blocks
Adverse effect:
Associated with using aminoglycosides (eg, amikacin) to treat multi-drug resistant pyelonephritis in the elderly
Nephrotoxicity (i.e. acute renal failure)
Diagnosis:
- Bladder pain worsened by filling and relieved by voiding
- Dyspareunia
- Urinary frequency
- Urinary urgency
Interstitial cystitis
Treatment:
Interstitial cystitis
- Behavioral modification & trigger avoidance
- Amitriptyline
- Analgesics for exacerbations
What is the most common cause interstitial nephritis?
Drug-induced
- Cephalosporins
- Penicillins
- Sulfonamides
- Sulfonamide containing diuretics
- NSAIDs
- Rifampin
- Phenytoin
- Allopurinol
Treatment:
Drug-induced interstitial nephritis
Discontinue the offending drug.
- Cephalosporins
- Penicillins
- Sulfonamides
- Sulfonamide containing diuretics
- NSAIDs
- Rifampin
- Phenytoin
- Allopurinol
Define:
Nephrotic Syndrome
- Heavy proteinuria (>3.5g/24hr)
- Hypoalbuminemia
- Edema
What are the two most common causes of nephrotic syndrome in the absence of systemic disease?
- Focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS)
2. Membranous nephropathy
What are the clinical associations for focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) as the etiology of nephrotic syndrome without systemic disease?
African-American and Hispanic ethnicity, obesity, HIV and heroin use
What are the clinical associations for membranous nephropathy as the etiology of nephrotic syndrome without systemic disease?
Adenocarcinoma (eg, breast, lung); NSAIDs; hepatitis B; systemic lupus erythmatosus
What are the primary renal causes of nephrotic syndrome?
- Focal segmental glomeruloscerlosis
- Membranous nephropathy
- Membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis
- Minimal change disease
- IgA nephropathy
How does the body respond to hypovolemia?
- JGA of the kidney releases renin
- Renin converts angiotensinogen to angiotensin I
- ACE, from the lungs, converts angiotensin I into angiotensin II
- Angiotensin II
A. Directly increases proximal tubule Na reabsorption
B. Leads to the secretion of Aldosterone to further increase Na and water reabsorption in the distal tubule
C. Causes Vasoconstriction which improves GFR and BP
How does the kidney respond to respiratory alkalosis?
Alkalinization of the urine (increased urine pH), by excreting bicarbonate in the urine.
Treatment:
Refractory hypokalemia in a chronic alcoholic
Correct hypomagnesia as well.
Chronic alcoholics typically present with multiple electrolyte abnormalities.
**Magnesium functions to inhibit renal potassium excretion. In its absence you have unopposed loss of potassium. **
Diagnosis:
- Midline abdominal pain
- No urination or bowel movement in 2 days
- Hx of BPH
- Chronic neck pain treated with amitriptyline
Amitriptyline-induced urinary retention
Treatment:
Amitriptyline-induced urinary retention
- Urinary catheterization
2. Discontinue any anticholinergic medications (eg, amitriptyline)
Mechanism of Action:
Amitriptyline-induced urinary retention
Anticholinergic drugs prevent:
- Detrusor muscle contraction
- Urinary sphincter relaxation
What medications cause hyperkalemia?
- Nonselective beta-adrenergic blockers
- ACE inhibitors, ARBs and K+ sparing diuretics
- Digitalis
- Cyclosporine
- Heparin
- NSAIDs
- Succinylcholine
Mechanism of Action:
Trimethoprim induced hyperkalemia
TMP blocks epithelial Na channel in the collecting tubule
This effect occurs most commonly in HIV patients.
How is the GFR affected in Trimethoprim-induced hyperkalemia?
It isn’t. TMP inhibits renal tubular creatinine secretion and artificially raises the creatinine, but GFR is unaffected.
What are the potential causes of normal anion gap metabolic acidosis?
- Hyperalimentation (IV nutrition)
- Addison disease
- Renal tubular acidosis
- Diarrhea
- Acetazolamine (Carbonic anhydrase inhibitors)
- Spironolactone
- Saline infusion
- Fistulas (eg, pancreatic ileocutaneous, etc)
- Urethral diversion (eg, ileal loop)
Think ‘HARD ASS’ + FU.
What group of diagnoses should you consider if you have normal anion gap metabolic acidosis and hyperkalemia that occur out of proportion to the renal dysfunction?
(i.e. potassium is high, bicarb is low, anion gap is normal, and creatinine is only moderately elevated)
Renal tubular acidosis (RTA)
What alterations would you see in Type 4 renal tubular acidosis:
- Anion gap
- Potassium level
- Renal function
- Anion gap would be normal, 8-12
- Hyperkalemic
- Mild to moderate renal insufficiency
Mechanism of Action:
Type 4 renal tubular acidosis in an elderly patient with poorly controlled diabetes
- Diabetes damages the JGA
- Patient enters a state of hyporeninemic and hypoaldosteronism (low renin; low aldosterone)
- Aldosterone deficiency leads to cortical collecting tubule dysfunction and retention of H+ and K+
- Remaining nephrons secrete acid as NH4+ in the urine until so metabolic acidosis is not seen until late in disease
What patients are at risk for Type 4 Renal Tubular Acidosis?
Poorly controlled diabetics
What type of acid-base disorder would you expect in aspirin toxicity?
Mixed respiratory alkalosis and anion gap metabolic acidosis
Symptoms:
Aspirin toxicity
- Fever
- Tinnitus
- Tachypnea