The Pathophysiology of Acute Renal Failure

Prerenal failure if identified early and treated correctly may be reversible. Intrarenal failure is the actual damage to the nephrons and renal parenchyma . This can be categorized as acute tubular necrosis and is a common type of acute renal failure in critically ill patients. This is a reversible type of renal failure but may take weeks or months before adequate renal function return. The condition that causes obstruction to urine flow is postrenal failure.

How do these tests change as renal failure progresses though its 3 stages? Discuss, compare and contrast the 3 stages. Some test doctors use to diagnose acute renal failure include a blood urea nitrogen, urinalysis, serum creatinine levels, serum potassium levels. A blood urea nitrogen test can help find out how well your kidneys are functioning. A urinalysis is used as a way to help detect what is wrong or how bad the renal failure is.

According to WebMD, the causes are characterized as a sudden decrease of blood flow to the kidneys, damage from some medications, poisons, or infections, a sudden blockage that stops urine from flowing out of the kidney. Prerenal failure is caused by the perfusion of the kidney which then results to reduced cardiac output and constriction of the afferent arteriole. If there is lengethened hypoperfusion which is characterized as the decrease in the flow of the blood it can lead to malfunction and death of the cell known as acute tubular necrosis. Intrarenal failure is the injury of the kidney itself that causes structural and functional kidney damage which can be ischemic, the restriction of the supply of blood in tissues, and cytotoxic. Symptoms can be prevalent like the pain in the flanks and mental confusion.

Acute kidney failure occurs when the kidneys are no longer able to filture waste products from your blood. Unfortunatley this leads to unbalanced levels of waste accumilated in the blood making this a very serious problem. This condition can be fatal and requires intensive treatment. Fortunately, however this may be reversible. Prerenal kidney failure occurs suddently when a reduction in blood flow to the kidneys causes loss of kidney function.

Shock, sepsis, dehydration, severe blood loss, heart failure, preexisting artherosclerosis are some of the major causes of Pre Renal Failure. During this phase there will be elevated BUN and Creatine. There will be a decrease in the Ur NA<20, and typically there won’t be trace proteinuria and the GFR will be decreased. Intra Renal Failure is characterized as injury involving both kidneys. The cause of Intra Renal Failure can be vascular related; glomerulonephritis, renal artery obstruction, anemia, thrombocytopenia.

Prerenal Prerenal is the disruption that occurs before reaching the kidneys, and are usually caused by inadequate blood circulation. It prevents blood from reaching the kidneys to be filtered. According to Remedy’s Health Communities (2001), “Some notable causes of prerenal ARF are dehydration, heart failure, sepsis (severe infection), and severe blood loss.” Pre-existing medical conditions can also be associated and factor into the cause. For example, atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries with fatty deposits), can reduce blood flow (Remedy's Health Communities, 2011). Not getting the proper amount of fluids may cause an ambulance and lead to a prerenal ARF.

In addition, the acute renal failure may be reversed which means the normal kidney function could be regained, but the chronic renal failure is irreversible. Chronic Renal Failure Chronic renal failure is progressive destruction of kidney tissue by disease which if not treated the patient by dialysis (removal of waste substances from the blood of a patient whose suffer from kidney failure) or ... ... middle of paper ... ...Churchill Livingstone Elsevier. • Bishop, M. Fody, E. & Schoeff, L., 2005. Clinical Chemistry: Principles, Procedures, Correlations. 5th ed.

Prerenal ARF is caused by a complication of any condition, medication or disease that causes a rapid decrease of blood flow to the kidneys, which in turn causes a loss of kidney function. In prerenal ARF the kidneys are usually fully functional before the reduction of blood flow. Prerenal ARF can be caused by major cardiac or abdominal surgery, severe infection (sepsis), or injury; medicines that interfere with the blood supply to the kidneys, such as ACE inhibitors and NSAIDs; severe dehydration caused by excessive fluid loss; severe burns; pancreatitis and liver diseases that create fluid shifts in the abdomen (Hudson 2003). A timely correction of the underlying problem results in the kidneys returning to full normal funct... ... middle of paper ... ...PH. (2013).

Renal Failure Renal failure is a broad health problem that is prevalent in today’s general population. There are five different types of kidney failure categorize the diagnosis of renal failure. Having a definition of Kidney Failure helps form an understanding of medical treatment issues surrounding this diagnosis and the impact had on not only the individuals but on support systems as well. Healthcare Diagnosis/Problem According to the Mayo Clinic, Kidney Failure occurs when the kidneys are suddenly unable to filter waste products from the blood. This occurring, results in the body beginning to accumulate high levels of dangerous waste, which eventually leads to a chemical imbalance in the blood.

(Mayo Clinic , 2012). The amount of urine excreted in a day can help your doctor find the cause of kidney failure. Diagnosis testing for prerenal and intrarenal failure would be Urinalysis and various blood tests, which reveal abnormalities such as BUN, serum electrolyte, creatinine, calcium, phosphorus and albumin levels. ( Mayo clinic, 2012). CT scan and/or an ultra sound can be used to view the kidneys and a biopsy is a definitive way to determine if the patient has postrenal failure.