Repro Topic 6 - Kidney Flashcards
How long is the PCT?
14 mm
What is the function of the PCT?
- 70% reabsorption - microvilli increase surface area
- Mostly active transport, almost everything moves with sodium (partially controlled by angiotensin II)
- SGLT2 - active sodium and glucose reabsorption
- Sodium and amino acid reabsorption
- Sodium + sulphate/phosphate reabsorption
- Sodium-hydrogen antiporter - sodium reabsorbed, hydrogen secreted
- Basolateral Na+/K+ ATPase pumps sodium back into circulation
- Aquaporin 1 - water movement due to osmotic gradient
How is H+ concentration maintained?
- Acid-base balance
- ECF and ICF equal, has to be kept within tight range
- Typical western diet - net acid
How can kidney function be calculated?
- MDRD formula used in labs
- Cocheroft-Gault for prescribing - based on creatinine clearance
Describe the function of the kidney in erythropoietin production
- Secreted from interstitial cells of the kidney
- Filters blood, have cells sensitive to low pO2
- Low pO2, increased EPO production, increased red blood cell mass, increased tissue pO2
What is the macula densa and what is its function?
- Where thick ascending LH meets DCT - in contact with the glomerulus
- Sensitive to sodium chloride concentration - increases blood flow in afferent arteriole and increases renein release from juxtaglomerular cells ( on afferent/efferent arterioles) if sodium chloride concentration is low
What triggers aldosterone release?
Angiotensin II or high serum K+ concentration
What causes metabolic alkalosis?
Low H+ or high bicarbonate
- Volume depletion -
- Gastric acid loss (vomiting)
- Diuretics
- Volume repleted type
- Mineral corticoids
- Hyperaldosteronism
- Bartler’s syndrome
- Cushing’s syndrome
- Profoud K+ depletion
How does the kidney contrubite to acid-base balance?
- Reabsorbs filtered bicarbonate - mostly in PCT (also thick ascending LH and DCT), carbonic anhydrase converts H+ and bicarbonate to H2O and CO2 to move into cells and be reabsorbed
- Filters non-volatile acids e.g. sulphuric - uses PO4 or NH3 to fix H+, excreted into urine as H2PO4 or NH4
- PCT synthesises ammonium, glutamine and amino acids
- 1 bicarbonate ion returned to circulation for every H+ excreted as ammonium
How can uric acid stones be prevented?
- Increase fluid consumption
- Treat hyperuricaemia with xanthine oxidase inhibitors e.g. Allopurinol/rasburicase (gout treatment)
- Alkalinise urine (pH > 6.0) - bicarbonate/citrate
Describe creatinine metabolism in the kidneys
- Breakdown product of creatinine phosphate - muscle metabolism
- Freely filtered at glomerulus
- Not reabsorbed
- Minimal tubular secretion
Describe the body fluid compartments
Intracellular fluid = 2/3
Interstitial and intravascular fluid (extracellular) = 1/3
What is the maximum/minimum urine production per day?
Minimum urine output = 0.4L per day
Maximum urine output = 12L per day
Why is maintenance of Ca2+ concentration important?
For normal muscle and nerve function
What are the causes of kidney disease?
- Ineffective blood supply - low plasma volume (e.g. due to haemorrhage) or narrowed renal arteries
- Glomerular disease
- Interstitial disease - tubules
- Obstructive uropathy
What is typically found on examination in renal stones?
- Flank tenderness when balloting the kidneys
- Signs of infection
- Obesity
- Hypertension
- Gouty tophi - nodular masses, urate deposits
- Diabetes mellitus
How is urine examined?
- Visual inspection
- Dipstick analysis
What are struvite renal stones composed of?
Magnesium ammonium phosphate
Describe the mechanism of action of Thiazide diuretics
- Inhibits NCC (Na+/Cl- symporter), inhibits reabsorption of sodium and chloride ions from the DCT
- Also increase reabsorption of calcium ions
What drives the movement of ions in the Loop of Henle?
Countercurrent exchange multiplier
What pathologies can CT of the kidneys show?
Trauma, stones, tumour, infection, renal stones (location and type)
Describe lactic acidosis
- Pyruvate converted to lactic acid which is converted to lactate, metabolised in liver/kidney
- Acidosis due to hypoperfusion, low hepatic clearance (sepsis) or drugs e.g. metformin
What is the cause of acidosis?
High H+ or low HCO3-
In what type of patients are loop diuretics the diuretic of choice?
Those with impaired renal function
How can cysteine stones be prevented?
- Increase fluid intake
- Low protein/sodium diet
- Alkalinise - bicarbonate/citrate
How are renal stones in the ureter treated?
- Small
- Expectant management
- Lower ureter - uteroscopic stone removal
- Mid/upper - extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL)
- Large (>7mm)
- ESWL
- Uteroscopic stone fragmentation
- Open surgery
What is the effect of impaired renal function on drug excretion?
Drugs will be excreted very slowly
What is the function of the glomerulus/Bowman’s capsule?
- Blood through afferent arteriole into the glomerulus at high pressure - controlled by sympathetic nervous system and prostaglandins
- Blood flows through glomerulus tufts, fluid filtered into Bowman’s capsule to produce filtrate
- Molecules and water pass through pass through glomerular basement membrane, negative charge repels proteins
- Large molecules don’t get through
How is ureteric stenting used in the treatment of renal stones?
- Allows drainage of obstructed kidney - alleviate pain
- Dilate ureter - passage of stone?
- Better ESWL and uteroscopic outcomes
How can calcium oxalate stones be prevented?
- Increase fluid
- Low oxalate diet
- Citrate
- Thiazide diuretic?
Describe urea metabolism in the kidney
- Urea is by-product of amino acid metabolism in liver
- Reabsorbed in inner medullary collecting ducts (passively)
- Involved in countercurrent exchange and maintaining concentration gradient
Which drugs can cause renal papillary necrosis?
- Aspirin
- NSAIDs
Can a low calcium diet be used to prevent calcium containing renal stones?
No - no good evidence
What kind of ion channels are present in the thick ascending limb of the loop of Henle?
- NKCC2 channel - active reabsorption of Na+, K+, Cl- (two chloride ions for every one sodium/potassium)
- Blocked by loop diuretics - more Na+ excreted, more water excreted
- Gradient maintained by basolateral Na+/K+ ATPase
What is the potential consequence of respiratory alkalosis?
Causes increased albumin binding to calcium, therefore lowers ionised calcium leading to tentany
What is the typical history of a patient with renal stones?
- Renal colic (flank pain) - moves loin to groin
- Passage of stones
- Haematuria
- Infection
- Family history, diet
Describe the components of acid-base balance
- Buffering
- Ventilation - control of CO2
- Renal regulation of HCO3- and H+ secretion/reabsorption
In which drugs does enhancement of adverse effects occur in renal impairement?
- Digoxin
- Potassium-sparing diuretics
- Biguanides (metformin) - lactic acidosis
- Sulphonylureas - hypoglycaemia
How does the kidney process lipid soluble drugs?
Lipid soluble drugs passively reabsorbed by diffusion - not usually excreted in urine
List the functions of the kidney
- Removing metabolic waste from extracellular fluid - urea, acids
- Controlling volume of extracellular fluid (and therefore blood pressure)
- Maintaining optimal concentration of solutes in the extracellular fluid (Na+, K+, H+, Ca2+, Mg, Cl-, phosphate)
- Extra functions e.g. erythropoietin production
Describe the venous drainage of the kidneys
- Left and right renal veins
- Leave hilum anterior to arteries, drain to inferior vena cava
- Left is longer, passes anterior to abdominal aorta
What causes calcium-containing stone formation?
Primary hyperparathyroidism
Hypercalcaemia
Idiopathic hypercalciuria
How can struvite stones be prevented?
- UTI treatment
- Bacteria increases urease enzymes - produce ammonium
- E.g. proteous spp, staph spp, Klebsiella spp.
What is the function of the loop of Henle?
Reabsorbs 20% of Na+ and large amounts of water
Which drugs have decreased sensitivity in renal impairment?
- Diuretics
- Urinary antibacterials
What is the physiological response to acidosis?
- Increased ventilation (shifts equilibrium)
- Kidney - increased hydrogen secretion, increased bicarbonate reabsorption
- Other buffers - haemoglobin, proteins, bone, PO4 - absorb H+
List the types of diuretics and give examples of each
- Loop e.g. Bumetanide, Furosemide
- Thiazide e.g. Bendroflumethazide, Indapamide
- Potassium sparing e.g. Amiloride, spironolactone
How are renal stones within the kidney treated?
- <2cm - expectant management or offer extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL)
- >2cm or multiple - expectant management or percutaneous ultrasonic lithotripsy (PUL)
- Large branched ‘staghorn’ stones - ESWL + PUL
- Cysteine stones - PUL or open nephrolithotomy
What may be the consequence of maintaining [H+]?
May be at the expense of other abnormal blood chemistry e.g. [HCO3-], pCO2
Describe the release of anti-diuretic hormone
High serum osmolality and/or decreased stretch baroreceptors/atrial stretch causes increased ADH synthesis in the hypothalamus, released by the posterior pituitary
Describe secondary prevention of renal stones
- If multiple stones in 10 years
- Increase fluid intake, increase citrate, stone-type specific advice
How can the cause of metabolic acidosis be determined?
- Use anion gap to identify likely cause
- High anion gap - high acid production, chronic renal failure
- Low anion gap - loss of bicarbonate = some cases of chronic renal failure, renal tubular acidosis
List drug induced glumerulonephropathies
- Membraneous
- Castopril, Gold salts, heavy metals, penicillamine, phenytoin
- Minimal change
- NSAIDs (stop synthesis of prostaglandin for vasodilation of afferent arteriole)
- Acute nephritis - penicillin
Describe the typical dialysis regime of a patient with chronic kidney disease
3x per week, 4/5 hours per session
How do the kidneys interact with the circulation?
- Baroreceptors (pressure) - carotid sinus, aortic arch, cardiac chambers, afferent arteriole of glomerulus
- Detect changes, respond via sympathetic nervous system
- If the ECF is depleted, baroreceptors detect change in BP, sympathetic stimulation causes afferent arteriole vasoconstriction to increase the volume of the ECF
What is the compensatory response to metabolic alkalosis?
Hypoventilation - increase pCO2
Define renal stones
- Also called renal calculus or nephrolithiasis
- Solid concretion of crystal aggregate formed within the urinary space
What problems does impaired renal function cause in drug therapy?
Toxicity due to increased sensitivity or ineffective treatment due to decreased sensitivity
- Impaired absorption
- Impaired elimination
- Renal dysfunction effect on hepatic drug elimination
- Increased tissue sensitivity
- Protein binding
What is the physiological response to increased sensed volume?
Natruiretic peptides (ANP, BNP) - opposite effect to angiotensin II
What is the function of the collecting tubules and how is it regulated?
- Collect and concentrate urine from the nephrons
- Hormonal control - anti-diuretic hormone via AQP2 and aldosterone
What causes urate stone formation?
Hyperuricaemia
How is the action of rifampicin changed in impaired kidney function?
Metabolised by liver, half-life same in CKD