What is nephritic syndrome?
Nephritic syndrome is diagnosed when the following symptoms are present: Edemas, consisting of fluid accumulation in legs and face mainly. Very frequently hematuria, which consists of urinating blood, there may also be arterial hypertension (AHT). All this accompanied by analytical alterations such as decreased renal function and protein loss in urine.
Prognosis of the disease
The prognosis of nephritic syndrome will vary according to the disease that is causing the nephritis. In cases where the disease improves, symptoms such as fluid retention, edema, cough and high blood pressure may subside in 1 to 2 weeks. On the other hand, urine tests may take several months to return to normal. It should be noted that children usually have a more favorable prognosis than adults and in many cases recover 100%. Only in a few situations do they suffer complications or worsen and progress to chronic glomerulonephritis and chronic kidney disease. In the case of adults, recovery is more delayed and complicated. In some adult patients acute nephritic syndrome may recur and in some cases end-stage renal disease may develop and require dialysis or kidney transplantation.
The prognosis of nephritic syndrome will vary depending on the disease that is causing the nephritis.
Symptoms of nephritic syndrome
Symptomatology can be divided into common symptoms and other symptoms. The former may include:
- Blood in the urine
- Decreased urine volume
- Swelling of legs, face, eye sockets, arms, feet, hands, abdomen or other areas
- High blood pressure
Other symptoms may also occur, such as:
- Blurred vision, usually caused by a burst retinal blood vessel.
- Coughing up mucus or pink, frothy material due to fluid buildup in the lungs
- Breathing complications due to fluid accumulation in the lungs as well.
- Unable to perform daily tasks, in addition to drowsiness, confusion, aches and pains in different parts of the body.
In addition, some symptoms such as acute renal failure or prolonged kidney disease may also occur.
Medical tests for nephritic syndrome
Through diagnostic tests your doctor can identify the following signs and symptoms
- High blood pressure
- Out-of-normal heart and lung sounds
- Symptoms of excess fluid such as swelling in the legs, arms, face, and abdomen
- Enlarged veins in the neck area
As for the tests that are performed they can be:
- Measure blood electrolytes
- Calculate blood urea nitrogen.
- Measuring creatinine
- Perform a creatinine clearance
- Potassium test
- Identify the possible occurrence of protein in urine
- Analyze urine
On the other hand, a renal biopsy may show an inflammation of the glomeruli, which are also infiltrated by white blood cells. This picture may be due to several diseases.
What are the causes of nephritic syndrome?
Nephritic syndrome is caused by an immune response preceded by an infection or some other disease.
The most common causes in children and adolescents include:
- Hemolytic uremic syndrome, consists of a disorder that appears when an infection in the digestive system generates harmful substances that kill red blood cells and affect the kidney.
- Henoch-Schönlein purpura, a disorder that includes gastrointestinal problems and glomerulonephritis.
- Immunoglobulin A nephropathy, disorders in which IgA antibodies are stored in kidney tissue.
- Post-streptococcal glomerulonephritis, a disorder affecting the kidney that occurs after infection with strains of a bacterium called streptococcus.
On the other hand the following causes are more common among adults:
- Abdominal abscesses
- Goodpasture’s syndrome, a disorder in which the immune system attacks the glomerulus.
- Hepatitis B or C
- Endocarditis, an inflammation of the inner lining of the heart chambers and valves, caused by bacterial or fungal infection.
- Membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis, a disorder affecting kidney cells
- crescentic glomerulonephritis, a variant of glomerulonephritis that causes a rapid loss of kidney function
- Lupus nephritis, a renal complication of systemic lupus erythematosus.
- Vasculitis, inflammation of the blood vessels.
- Viral diseases such as mononucleosis, measles or mumps.
Is it preventable?
The disorder cannot be prevented in many cases, but treating the disease and infection can improve the patient’s quality of life and reduce the risk of disease.
Treatments for nephritic syndrome
Treatment focuses on reducing kidney inflammation and controlling high blood pressure. There is a possibility that the patient may be hospitalized for diagnosis and treatment. Your physician may instruct you to take the following steps:
- Bed rest until your sensations improve with treatment.
- A diet excluding salt, restricting fluids and potassium.
- Medications to regulate high blood pressure, reduce swelling, or remove unnecessary fluids from the body with diuretics.
- In some cases, kidney dialysis may also be necessary.
What specialist treats it?
The nephrologist is the specialist in charge of treating this disease. Let us remember that Nephrology is the specialty within medicine that studies the anatomy of the kidneys and how they function. The objective of this specialty is to prevent, diagnose and treat kidney diseases and their final results. This is why the nephrologist is the most appropriate specialist to treat nephritic syndrome.