Acute renal failure (ARF), also referred to as acute kidney injury (AKI), is the abrupt loss of
renal function; the kidneys inability to perform its functions of filtering wastes from the blood,
regulating blood pressure, and maintaining electrolyte balance in the body. This sudden loss of
functioning occurs within less. Most patients who experience ARF are already hospitalized or
may be in ICU for other medical conditions, although some patients have no signs or symptoms
but a diagnosis is made from lab results performed for other medical reasons. In most cases,
kidney function can return to normal if the cause of failure is identified and treated.
ARF is classified into the following three categories depending on the causal factors:
• Prerenal ARF results from a rapid decrease in blood pressure or a diminished flow of
blood to the kidneys which may be caused by injury, illness, severe allergic reactions,
acute dehydration, or certain medications that include aspirin, ibuprofen, or naproxen.
• Intrarenal ARF results from damage to the kidneys themselves due to particular
conditions, diseases, or agents including infection, venal and/or arterial blood
clots in proximity of the kidneys, cholesterol deposits that impede blood flow,
glomerulonephritis, toxins such as alcohol and drugs, or various medications including
those used for chemotherapy, antibiotics, dyes used in contrast studies, and zoledronic
acid, prescribed for the treatment of osteoporosis and elevated blood calcium levels.
• Postrenal ARF results from a sudden blockage of the ureters, resulting in the inability
to pass urine from the body. Uropathy can occur with certain cancers such as prostate...
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...s blood from the body where it goes through a dialyzer that cleans and filters
the blood which is then pumped back into the body. This process helps to remove toxins, fluids,
and potassium while the kidneys are recovering. In severe cases, a kidney severely damaged
may require permanent dialysis. Those suffering from chronic kidney disease due to permanent
damage to a kidney may require a kidney transplant.
The short term nursing goals would be to establish and maintain normal levels of fluids and
electrolytes, returning normal kidney function. Also, patient comfort, both physical and mental
need to be addressed and supported. Long term nursing goals would be to educate the patient
and family with regard to possible dietary changes and reduced activity levels, if needed, so a
healthy life style can prevent further occurrences.
The kidneys are located in the posterior section of the retroperitoneal cavity and are small, dark red kidney-bean shaped organs in the lower part of the rib cage (Marieb, The Urinary System, 2015). They are undervalued organs considering how essential they are for the body’s ability to maintain homeostasis. The kidneys filter about 120-150 quarts of blood to produce about 1-2 quarts of urine each day (NIH, 2014). Blood initially enters the kidneys through the renal artery. It then flows into the segmental artery before moving into the interlobar artery. From the interlobar artery the filtrate enters the arcuate artery before branching into the cortical radiate artery, which feeds into the afferent arteriole, before passing into the glomerulus where it begins to filter out waste. The filtered waste is then collected by renal tubule. The tubules drain to collecting ducts and all of these components together makes up a small unit called a nephron. Each kidney has over a million nephrons (Marieb, Blood Supply/ Nephrons, 2015). They filter out wastes that run through different body systems via blood; the majority of that waste is nitrogenous wastes, toxins, excess fluids, electrolytes, and drugs. These waste products are eliminated as urine. While waste are removed vital enzymes, hormones, and water are returned
oxygen out of the blood and uses it in the body's cells. The cells use
results in the need for more blood. Since more blood is needed to fill the
Kidneys have important roles in maintaining health and making our lives easier everyday. It is located near the middle of your back, just below the rib cage. Functions of the kidneys include extracting wastes from the blood and balancing body fluids from the urine. Most of kidney diseases attack the nephrons, which is the functional units of the kidney. This damages causes kidney malfunctions for example, medicines, genetic problems and injuries.
1 in 3 Americans Adults are currently at risk for developing kidney disease. What is acute renal failure, when your kidneys functions all of a sudden stop working and your kidneys are the body’s filter which remove waste products and help balance water, salts and minerals especially electrolytes in your blood when your kidneys stop working you end up building all the products in your body that need to be filtered and eliminated. The pathophysiology of Acute Renal Failure are due to three main causes Pre-renal, Intra-renal, and Post renal. Pre-renal is a sudden drop in blood pressure or interruption of blood flow to the kidneys from illness or sever injury. Intra-renal is direct damage to the kidneys by inflammation of drugs, infection, toxins or reduced blood supply. Post-renal is a sudden obstruction of urine flow because of enlarged prostate bladder tumor, kidney stones, or injury.
Short / Long Term Nursing Goals As a nurse, our goal is to help the patient get through everyday life without complications. Within the first six months, as a nurse I would want to make sure that the patient would have normal fluid and electrolyte levels. I would also want to make sure that the patients pain will decrease to a level that is tolerated. I would have the patient see a dietitian to help them make a diet plan for adequate nutrition. And most of all I would want to push fluids to increase urine production to make sure the kidneys are perfusing. Goals that would carry out of the six month period would be maintain homeostasis. I would also advise the patient to attend support groups and hear about what others have to say who are or were going through the same illness and maybe they can learn something on how they got through everyday life.
The renal disease are common nowadays .The acute renal failure is a medical term means that the kidneys stopped from working and not able to clear toxins from body ,not able to maintained a stable electrolyte balance inside the body and not able to secret the extra fluid as urine outside the body. The renal replacement therapy (RRT) or dialysis has been discovered on 1913 by Able, Rowntree and Turner in London, UK.
This article is for people whose kidneys fail to work. This condition is called end-stage renal disease (ESRD).
During my career as a registered nurse I have had the privilege of caring for my patients at the bedside and meeting their needs holistically. Additionally, the safety of my patients is one of the most important aspects of my current role. The experience of advocating for my patients during my nursing career has taught me to place my patient’s health and wellbeing first. The second most important aspect of nursing that I have learned during my career is how to meet my patient’s needs as a whole, not just physically but also emotionally and psychologically applying the holistic approach to each patient. I believe that the patient’s needs
As a nurse, it is important to address the needs of a patient during care. These needs are unique to each individual and personalizing it, enable the patients to feel truly cared about. It is important to be educated about these needs as the patients and their families look to you as a guide; therefore, education on things w...
I will also discuss the plan I created in order to successfully meet my learning needs prior to becoming an RPN, and how I will evaluate whether or not I improved in these two areas. Learning Needs / Goals The two areas I feel I need further development in are understanding the scope of practice for an RPN, and Intravenous (IV) therapy. Also, it is important to understand your role as a nurse to ensure the patients’ needs are being met, and to ensure you stay within your scope of practice while providing care.
blocked has now shut down. This kidney, if left untreated for just a few days,
Overall, for an acute kidney failure patient the hope is that they are able to have complete recovery and be free of complications and electrolyte and fluid imbalances by the end of treatment. Though, this is not true for most, because many AKI patients have co-existing morbidities and need treatment until the end of life. As nurses all we can do is give the best care that we know how and make our patients feel as comfortable as possible while they’re under our care.
After completing registered nursing school in 2006, a few years later, I obtained a bachelor’s of Science in Nursing in 2016. Over the last 10 years, I have tried to look for inefficient procedures, finds ways to streamline them, and consistently have striven to boost the productivity of everyone around me. Working as a nursing supervisor an area hospital for the last 3 years, I have tried to promote healthy patient outcomes. I understand the need for procedures but I also try to maximized the time spent educating the patients and family. By allowing time for good explanations to both the patient and family development of an understanding their disease process can occur. This empowers them to make informed decisions and promote health improvements. Throughout my career in nursing, I have tried to successfully communicate and partner with other members in
Kidney Function Introduction and definition of terms: The kidneys are the main organs in the urinary system. They filter waste products out of blood from the renal artery. These are then excreted. Useful solutes are reabsorbed into the blood. They also have a major homeostatic role in the body, and help to control the water content (osmoregulation) and pH of the blood.