Also known as acute renal failure or acute kidney injury (AKI), this condition occurs when your kidneys stop filtering waste products from your blood. It differs from chronic kidney disease (CKD) because it comes on quickly, while CKD progresses over time.
What Causes Acute Kidney Failure?
Three primary factors cause acute kidney failure:
Prerenal acute kidney injury: This condition occurs when blood flow is prevented from reaching the kidneys. It may be caused by an obstruction of the kidney’s blood vessels, blood loss, heart attack, infection, liver failure, severe allergic reactions and dehydration. Overusing medications such as aspirin, ibuprofen and naproxen sodium can also lead to prerenal AKI.
Intrinsic acute kidney injury: Damage to the kidneys caused by injuries, diseases and substances can result in intrinsic AKI. Physical trauma, blood clots, cholesterol deposits and inflamed filters in the kidneys may induce acute kidney failure. Blood and tissue disorders also affect kidney function. Toxins from muscle and tumor breakdowns, heavy alcohol use and cocaine are other sources of intrinsic AKI.
Postrenal acute kidney injury: This type of kidney failure happens when a blockage prevents urine from leaving the kidneys. Blockages usually stem from bladder, cervical or prostate cancer, nerve damage to the bladder, blood clots in the ureter and kidney stones.
Symptoms of Acute Kidney Failure
This condition doesn’t always present symptoms and is often detected when you receive lab work for other health issues. However, traditional warning signs usually develop quickly over a few days.
Seek immediate medical attention if you experience any of the following symptoms:
- Rapid decrease in urination
- Swelling in your legs, ankles and feet
- Fatigue
- Confusion
- Nausea
- Weakness
- Irregular heartbeat
- Chest pain or pressure
- Shortness of breath
- Seizures
- Coma, in extreme cases
Risk Factors
Knowing the risk factors of acute kidney failure will help you stay mindful of your health and watch for symptoms. Acute kidney failure often occurs due to another health condition, such as diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, kidney disease and liver disease.
It’s common to develop kidney failure if you’ve been hospitalized for a critical illness or injury. Some cancers and their treatments also affect kidney function and require careful monitoring. Advanced age is another also increases your risk of kidney failure.
Treating Acute Kidney Failure
Identifying and addressing the underlying cause of kidney failure determines the success of treatment. Sometimes, kidney function can be restored, while other instances result in irreversible kidney damage.
AKI requires a hospital stay, and treatment may involve:
- IV therapy to prevent dehydration
- Diuretics to improve urination and reduce swelling
- Hemodialysis to remove toxins from your blood
You may also need to make lifestyle changes, including improving diet and exercise, limiting alcohol consumption and avoiding the overuse of certain over-the-counter medications.
Embassy Healthcare’s Empower Renal program provides quality dialysis care and health management services so you can live comfortably. Call 216-378-2050 or contact us online for more information.
