Renal + Urogenital Flashcards
What is the function of the urinary tract?
- to collect continuously produced urine
- to store it under safe conditions
- to expel urine when socially acceptable
What are the key features in the filling of a normally functioning bladder?
- continence
- sensation of bladder volume
- receptive relaxation: relaxes to allow larger volume without increased pressure
What are the key features in the voiding of a normally functioning bladder?
- voluntary initiation
- complete emptying
What incontinence problems can occur in neuropathic bladder management?
- incontinence: neurogenic detrusor overactivity ( sphincter contracts by itself
- stress incontinence: when pressure inc in abdomen e.g. coughing, urine leaks out - normally prevented by guarding reflex
What upper tract injury problems can occur in neuropathic bladder management?
- infection
What are the 5 main functions of the kidney?
- fluid balance and BP control
- waste, toxin and drug removal
- red cell production (generates erythropoietin)
- vit D metabolism
- acid-base regulation
Why are most people with advanced CKD anaemic?
- not enough EPO to stimulate bone marrow to produce RBC
- leads to normocytic anaemia
What is acute kidney injury?
- acute drop in kidney function over hours or days
- diagnosed by measuring serum creatinine
What are the NICE criteria for AKI?
- rise in creatinine of ≥25µmol/L in 48h
- rise in creatinine of ≥50% in 7 days
- urine output of < 0.5ml/kg/hr for > 6hrs
What are risk factors for AKI?
- CKD
- heart failure
- diabetes
- liver disease
- older age
What are pre-renal causes of renal failure?
- due to inadequate blood supply to the kidneys, reducing filtration of blood
- hypovolaemia
- reduced CO
- drugs that reduce BP
What are causes of renal failure?
- intrinsic disease leads to reduced filtration of blood
- Glomerulonephritis
- Interstitial nephritis
- Acute tubular necrosis
- rhabdomyolysis: CK in skeletal muscle is nephrotoxic
- nephrotoxic drugs and antibiotics
What are post-renal causes of AKI?
- caused by obstruction to the outflow of urine causing back pressure and reduced kidney function
- renal stones
- cancer
- enlarged prostate
- blocked catheter
What are symptoms of AKI?
- nausea
- dehydration and less urination
- diarrhoea
- confusion and drowsiness
How is AKI investigated?
- urinalysis
- leucocytes and nitrites: infection
- protein and blood: acute nephritis
- glucose: diabetes
- ultrasound for obstruction
How is AKI managed?
- fluid rehydration if pre-renal
- stop nephrotoxic medication
- relieve obstruction if post renal
- dialysis if serious
How is CKD investigated?
- eGFR calculated using U&E
- proteinuria using albumin:creatinine ratio (≥3mg/mmol)
Which LUTS fall into storage?
- frequency
- urgency
- nocturia
- incontinence
Which LUTS fall into voiding?
- poor flow
- intermittency
- straining
- terminal dribbling
- hesitancy
Which LUTS fall into post micturition?
- sensation of incomplete voiding
- post-micturition dribbling
What can cause difficulty voiding?
- benign prostatic hyperplasia
- urethral stricture
- masses
- prolapse
- non-obstructive: atonic bladder: insufficient detrusor contraction
What is stress incontinence?
- weakness of the pelvic floor and sphincter muscles
- leads to urine leakage when there is inc pressure on the bladder
- occurs when laughing, coughing, sneezing
What is urge incontinence?
- overactivity of detrusor leads to sudden urge to pass urine
What is overflow incontinence?
- occurs in chronic urinary retention
- due to obstruction of outflow of urine
What are the risk factors for renal cell carcinoma?
- smoking
- obesity
- genetic
- more common in males
- hypertension
- dialysis
How does renal cell carcinoma present?
- triad: haematuria, loin pain, palpable mass
- mostly found incidentally on scan
How is renal cancer staged?
- Stage 1: tumour diameter < 7cm
- Stage 2: diameter > 7cm
- Stage 3: local size, spread to nearby tissues and veins
- Stage 4: metastasis occurred
How is renal cancer investigated?
- CT TAP used for staging
- MRI if needed
- biopsy
How is renal cancer managed?
- active surveillance if slow growing and treatment would be detrimental
- radiofrequency ablation, cryotherapy, arterial embolisation
- partial or radical nephrectomy
What are the types of renal cell carcinoma?
- clear cell carcinoma
- papillary carcinoma
- chromophobe
- collecting duct
What paraneoplastic features are associated with renal cell carcinoma?
- polycythaemia: unregulated EPO
- hypercalcaemia: PTH mimic
- hypertension: inc renin secretion and physical compression
- Staffer’s syndrome: abnormal LFTs without liver metastasis
What are common complications of renal cell carcinoma?
- spread to renal vein, IVC
- cannonball metastases appear as defined circular opacities scattered through lung fields on CXR
What are the risk factors for bladder cancer?
- smoking
- exposure to aromatic hydrocarbons, dyes, rubber,
- industrial exposures: hairdressers, leather and chemical workers
- drugs e.g. cyclophosphamide
How does bladder cancer present?
- painless, visible haematuria
- LUTS without cause
- recurrent UTIs
Where does bladder cancer occur and what are the types?
- transitional cell carcinoma = 90%: affects urothelium
- squamous cell carcinoma: dysplasia from irritation e.g. stones, schistosomiasis
How is bladder cancer investigated?
- flexible cystoscopy: direct visualisation which is very quick
- ultrasound
What are the surgical management options for bladder cancer?
- transurethral resection (TURBT) is used for non muscle invasive bladder cancer
- tumour removal during cystoscopy
- radical cystectomy: removal of entire bladder
How is bladder cancer staged?
- non-muscle invasive bladder cancer vs muscle invasive bladder cancer
- T1: sub epithelial only: low risk
- T2: muscle invasive
- T3a/b through the muscle / invading perivesical fat
- T4a/b invading prostate / pelvic side wall
What are the non surgical management options for bladder cancer?
- intravesical chemotherapy: given through catheter to reduce recurrence risk
- intravesical BCG: BCG vaccine used as immunotherapy
What is the most common way to divert urine following cystectomy?
- draining urine from the kidney, bypassing the ureters, bladder and urethra
- creating ileal conduit
- urine drains from kidneys > ureters > separated ileum > urostomy bag
What are the types of testicular cancer?
- germ cell: seminoma or non seminoma
- Non seminoma: teratoma, yolk sac tumour, choriocarcinoma
- Leydig, and Sertoli cell are rare
How does testicular cancer present?
- painless testicular lump: non-tender, hard, irregular
What are risk factors for testicular cancer?
- cryptorchidism
- family history
- HIV
- previous testicular cancer
How is testicular cancer investigated?
- scrotal ultrasound
- tumour markers: α fetoprotein, β hCG, LDH
What is the epidemiology of testicular cancer?
- caucasian males
- aged 15-35
How is testicular cancer staged?
- X-ray
- 1: isolated to testicle
- 2: spread to retroperitoneal lymph nodes
- 3: spread to lymph nodes above diaphragm
- 4: metastasised to other organs
How is testicular cancer managed?
- radical inguinal orchidectomy
- platinum based chemotherapy
- sperm banking due to possible infertility
What are key risk factors for prostate cancer?
- increasing age
- family history
- Black African/Caribbean origin
How does prostate cancer present?
- LUTS (similar to benign prostatic hyperplasia)
- haematuria
- erectile dysfunction
- symptoms of metastasis
How is prostate cancer diagnosed?
- PSA
- DRE
- MRI
- transrectal ultrasound guided prostate biopsy
- histopathology: Gleason grading
What type of cancer is prostate typically?
- adenocarcinoma
- typically occurs in peripheral zone of prostate
- multifocal, occurs with a dominant nodule
- metastasises to lymph nodes, bone, brain, lungs
- firm, hard, irregular and loss of central sulcus in DRE
What is the Gleason scoring system?
- tissue grading for prostate cancer
- looks to see how close the tissue is to normality
- grade: how the cancer is likely to behave
What is the staging for prostate cancer?
- T1: no palpable tumour on DRE, present on biopsy
- T2: visible nodule, palpable on DRE but confined to prostate
- T3: palpable tumour extending beyond capsule
- T4: invading local structures: sphincter, rectum
How is prostate cancer managed?
- surveillance: if early
- external beam radiotherapy: can lead to proctitis
- brachytherapy or hormone therapy
- radical prostatectomy
What is glomerulonephritis?
- broad term referring to a group of conditions concerning inflammation and damage to the glomeruli and nephrons
What is IgA nephropathy?
- most common cause of primary glomerulonephritis
- abnormality in IgA glycosylation leads to deposition in the mesangium
- leads to haematuria and proteinuria
How does IgA nephropathy present and how is it diagnosed?
- episodic macroscopic haematuria
- stimulated by illness e.g. sore throat
- nephrotic syndrome rare
- biopsy
How is IgA nephropathy treated?
- controlling BP: ACE-i, ARBs
- steroids and immunosuppression
What are the types of erectile dysfunction?
- neurogenic: failure to initiate
- arteriogenic (most common): failure to fill
- venogenic: failure to store
What is the epidemiology of erectile dysfunction?
- affects 10% of men aged 40-70
- increasing prevalence with age
What is a UTI?
- combination of clinical features and the presence of bacteria in the urine
How can UTIs be classified?
- asymptomatic bacteriuria
- uncomplicated
- complicated
What is pyuria?
- presence of leucocytes in the urine
- associated with infection
- can have sterile pyuria: finding white cells but not detecting any bacteria e.g. if non-infective cause