Acute Kidney Injury
Acute kidney injury (AKI), previously called acute renal failure (ARF), is a sudden decrease in renal function, kidney function that develops within seven days, as shown by an increase in serum creatinine or a decrease in urine output, or both. Causes of AKI are classified as either prerenal (due to decreased blood flow to the kidney), intrinsic renal (due to damage to the kidney itself), or postrenal (due to blockage of urine flow). Prerenal causes of AKI include sepsis, dehydration, hemorrhage, excessive blood loss, cardiogenic shock, heart failure, cirrhosis, and certain medications like ACE inhibitors or NSAIDs. Intrinsic renal causes of AKI include glomerulonephritis, lupus nephritis, acute tubular necrosis, certain antibiotics, and chemotherapeutic agents. Postrenal causes of AKI include kidney stones, bladder cancer, neurogenic bladder, benign prostatic hyperplasia, enlargement of the prostate, urethral stricture, narrowing of the urethra, and certain medications like anti ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Renal Cortex
The renal cortex is the outer portion of the kidney between the renal capsule and the renal medulla. In the adult, it forms a continuous smooth outer zone with a number of projections ( cortical columns) that extend down between the pyramids. It contains the renal corpuscles and the renal tubules except for parts of the loop of Henle which descend into the renal medulla. It also contains blood vessels and cortical collecting ducts. The renal cortex is the part of the kidney where ultrafiltration occurs. Erythropoietin is produced in the renal cortex. Additional images File:Njuren.gif, Kidney File:Kidney-Cortex.JPG, Microscopic cross section of the renal cortex File:Kidney_cd10_ihc.jpg, CD10 immunohistochemical staining of normal kidney In humans, the kidneys are two reddish-brown bean-shaped blood-filtering organ (anatomy), organs that are a multilobar, multipapillary form of mammalian kidneys, usually without signs of external lobulation. They are located on the le ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Acute Tubular Necrosis
Acute tubular necrosis (ATN) is a medical condition involving the death of tubular epithelial cells that form the renal tubules of the kidneys. Because necrosis is often not present, the term acute tubular injury (ATI) is preferred by pathologists over the older name acute tubular necrosis (ATN). ATN presents with acute kidney injury (AKI) and is one of the most common causes of AKI. Common causes of ATN include low blood pressure and use of nephrotoxic drugs. The presence of "muddy brown casts" of epithelial cells found in the urine during urinalysis is pathognomonic for ATN. Management relies on aggressive treatment of the factors that precipitated ATN (e.g. hydration and cessation of the offending drug). Because the tubular cells continually replace themselves, the overall prognosis for ATN is quite good if the underlying cause is corrected, and recovery is likely within 7 to 21 days. Classification ATN may be classified as either ''toxic'' or ''ischemic''. Toxic ATN occur ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Hyperkalaemia
Hyperkalemia is an elevated level of potassium (K+) in the blood. Normal potassium levels are between 3.5 and 5.0mmol/L (3.5 and 5.0 mEq/L) with levels above 5.5mmol/L defined as hyperkalemia. Typically hyperkalemia does not cause symptoms. Occasionally when severe it can cause palpitations, muscle pain, muscle weakness, or numbness. Hyperkalemia can cause an abnormal heart rhythm which can result in cardiac arrest and death. Common causes of hyperkalemia include kidney failure, hypoaldosteronism, and rhabdomyolysis. A number of medications can also cause high blood potassium including mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists (e.g., spironolactone, eplerenone and finerenone) NSAIDs, potassium-sparing diuretics (e.g., amiloride), angiotensin receptor blockers, and angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors. The severity is divided into mild (5.5 – 5.9mmol/L), moderate (6.0 – 6.5 mmol/L), and severe (> 6.5mmol/L). High levels can be detected on an electrocardiogram (E ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Metabolic Acidosis
Metabolic acidosis is a serious electrolyte disorder characterized by an imbalance in the body's acid-base balance. Metabolic acidosis has three main root causes: increased acid production, loss of bicarbonate, and a reduced ability of the kidneys to excrete excess acids. Metabolic acidosis can lead to acidemia, which is defined as arterial blood pH that is lower than 7.35. Acidemia and acidosis are not mutually exclusive – pH and hydrogen ion concentrations also depend on the coexistence of other acid-base disorders; therefore, pH levels in people with metabolic acidosis can range from low to high. Acute metabolic acidosis, lasting from minutes to several days, often occurs during serious illnesses or hospitalizations, and is generally caused when the body produces an excess amount of organic acids ( ketoacids in ketoacidosis, or lactic acid in lactic acidosis). A state of chronic metabolic acidosis, lasting several weeks to years, can be the result of impaired kidney fun ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Intensive Care Unit
An intensive care unit (ICU), also known as an intensive therapy unit or intensive treatment unit (ITU) or critical care unit (CCU), is a special department of a hospital or health care facility that provides intensive care medicine. An intensive care unit (ICU) was defined by the task force of the World Federation of Societies of Intensive and Critical Care Medicine as "an organized system for the provision of care to critically ill patients that provides intensive and specialized medical and nursing care, an enhanced capacity for monitoring, and multiple modalities of physiologic organ support to sustain life during a period of life-threatening organ system insufficiency." Patients may be referred directly from an emergency department or from a ward if they rapidly deteriorate, or immediately after surgery if the surgery is very invasive and the patient is at high risk of complications. History In 1854, Florence Nightingale left for the Crimean War, where triage was used ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Kidney Biopsy
Renal biopsy (also kidney biopsy) is a medical procedure in which a small piece of kidney is removed from the body for examination, usually under a microscope. Microscopic examination of the tissue can provide information needed to diagnose, monitor or treat problems of the kidney. A renal biopsy can be targeted to a particular lesion, for example a tumour arising from the kidney (targeted renal biopsy). More commonly, however, the biopsy is non-targeted as medical conditions affecting the kidney typically involve all kidney tissue indiscriminately. In the latter situation, any sufficiently sized piece of kidney tissue can be used. A native renal biopsy is one in which the patient's own kidneys are biopsied. In a transplant renal biopsy, the kidney of another person that has been transplanted into the patient is biopsied. Transplant kidney biopsy can be performed when nothing is apparently wrong with the transplant kidney for the purposes of surveillance for hidden disease (prot ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Renal Ultrasound
Renal ultrasonography (Renal US) is the examination of one or both kidneys using medical ultrasound. Ultrasonography of the kidneys is essential in the diagnosis and management of kidney-related diseases. The kidneys are easily examined, and most pathological changes in the kidneys are distinguishable with ultrasound. US is an accessible, versatile inexpensive and fast aid for decision-making in patients with renal symptoms and for guidance in renal intervention.Content initially copied from:(CC-BY 4.0)/ref> Renal ultrasound (US) is a common examination, which has been performed for decades. Using B-mode imaging, assessment of renal anatomy is easily performed, and US is often used as image guidance for renal interventions. Furthermore, novel applications in renal US have been introduced with contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS), elastography and fusion imaging. However, renal US has certain limitations, and other modalities, such as CT and MRI, should always be considered as supp ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Urine Electrolytes
Urine electrolyte levels can be measured in a medical laboratory for diagnostic purposes. The urine concentrations of sodium, chlorine and potassium may be used to investigate conditions such as abnormal blood electrolyte levels, acute kidney injury, metabolic alkalosis and hypovolemia. Other electrolytes that can be measured in urine are calcium, phosphorus and magnesium Magnesium is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Mg and atomic number 12. It is a shiny gray metal having a low density, low melting point and high chemical reactivity. Like the other alkaline earth metals (group 2 .... References Urine tests {{Med-diagnostic-stub ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Urine Microscopy
Urinalysis, a portmanteau of the words ''urine'' and ''analysis'', is a panel of medical tests that includes physical (macroscopic) examination of the urine, chemical evaluation using urine test strips, and microscopic examination. Macroscopic examination targets parameters such as color, clarity, odor, and specific gravity; urine test strips measure chemical properties such as pH, glucose concentration, and protein levels; and microscopy is performed to identify elements such as cells, urinary casts, crystals, and organisms. Background Urine is produced by the filtration of blood in the kidneys. The formation of urine takes place in microscopic structures called nephrons, about one million of which are found in a normal human kidney. Blood enters the kidney though the renal artery and flows through the kidney's vasculature into the glomerulus, a tangled knot of capillaries surrounded by Bowman's capsule. The glomerulus and Bowman's capsule together form the renal corpuscl ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Anticholinergic
Anticholinergics (anticholinergic agents) are substances that block the action of the acetylcholine (ACh) neurotransmitter at synapses in the central nervous system, central and peripheral nervous system. These agents inhibit the parasympathetic nervous system by selectively blocking the binding of ACh to its receptor in nerve cells. The nerve fibers of the parasympathetic system are responsible for the involuntary movement of Smooth muscle tissue, smooth muscles present in the gastrointestinal tract, urinary tract, lungs, sweat glands, and many other parts of the body. In broad terms, anticholinergics are divided into two categories in accordance with their specific targets in the central and peripheral nervous system and at the neuromuscular junction: antimuscarinic agents and antinicotinic agents (ganglionic blockers, neuromuscular blockers). The term "anticholinergic" is typically used to refer to antimuscarinics that competitively inhibit the binding of ACh to muscarinic a ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Urethral Stricture
A urethral stricture is a narrowing of the urethra, the tube connected to the Urinary bladder, bladder that allows urination. The narrowing reduces the flow of urine and makes it more difficult or even painful to empty the bladder. Urethral stricture is caused by injury, instrumentation, infection, and certain non-infectious forms of urethritis. The condition is more common in men due to their longer urethra. Signs and symptoms The hallmark sign of urethral stricture is a weak urinary stream. Other symptoms include: * Splaying of the urinary stream * Urinary frequency * Urinary urgency * Straining to urinate * Dysuria, Pain during urination * Urinary tract infection * Prostatitis * Inability to completely empty the bladder. Some people with severe urethral strictures are completely unable to urinate. This is referred to as acute urinary retention, and is a medical emergency. Hydronephrosis and kidney failure may also occur. Complications * Urinary retention * Prostatitis * ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia
Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), also called prostate enlargement, is a noncancerous increase in size of the prostate gland. Symptoms may include frequent urination, trouble starting to urinate, weak stream, urinary retention, inability to urinate, or urinary incontinence, loss of bladder control. Complications can include urinary tract infections, bladder stones, and chronic kidney problems. The cause is unclear. Risk factors include a family history, obesity, type 2 diabetes, not enough exercise, and erectile dysfunction. Medications like pseudoephedrine, anticholinergics, and calcium channel blockers may worsen symptoms. The underlying mechanism involves the prostate pressing on the urethra thereby making it difficult to pass urine out of the bladder. Diagnosis is typically based on symptoms and Physical examination, examination after ruling out other possible causes. Treatment options include lifestyle changes, medications, a number of procedures, and surgery. In th ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |