Pyelonephritis most often results from an untreated or poorly treated urethral or bladder infection that has spread to the kidneys. Appropriate treatment should then be instituted as soon as possible. Otherwise, chronic pyelonephritis may develop and, consequently, failure of this organ. What are the causes and symptoms of pyelonephritis? What is the treatment of this disease?

Pyelonephritisis a disease in which, as a result of inflammation, the interstitial tissue of the kidneys and renal tubular cells are damaged. Untreated or poorly treated, it can lead to irreversible damage to the kidneys and, consequently, to their failure.

Pyelonephritis - Causes and Risk Factors

Acute pyelonephritismay be the result of infection:

  • bacterial - in most cases (about 80%), acute pyelonephritis occurs as a result of infection by bacteria that come from the lower urinary tract and enter the kidneys through ascending through the ureters. Most often they areE bacteria. Coli , less often staphylococci. Other bacteria that cause urinary tract infections include gonorrhea and mycoplasmas
  • viral - viruses from theHerpesfamily are most often responsible for the infection, including herpes virus, which can be caught during sexual contact
  • fungal - they occur in immunocompromised patients treated with antibiotics or immunosuppressants, as well as in patients with long-term catheterization

Acute pyelonephritis can also be the result of pathogenic microbes entering the kidneys through the blood.

Chronic pyelonephritisis the result of an untreated or poorly treated urethral or bladder infection (bacteria that cling to the urinary tract travel through the ureter into the kidney and cause inflammation) ) or recurrent acute pyelonephritis.

The factors contributing to the disease are:

  • developmental defects anddisorders of the outflow from the genitourinary system (e.g. due to kidney stones, neoplastic changes, e.g. a tumor of the bladder or uterus, prostate hyperplasia, hyperplasia - tissue growth)
  • pregnancy
  • diabetes
  • bladder-urinary reflux (urine flowing back from the bladder into the kidneys)
  • neurological disorders with impaired emptying of the bladder (e.g. spinal hernia, after a stroke)
  • intense sex life
  • catheter in the urinary bladder.

Pyelonephritis - symptoms

In the acute form of the disease, the predominant symptom is sudden, sharp pain in the lumbar region (one or two-sided), which may radiate to the groin. In addition, there are symptoms characteristic of inflammation of the lower urinary tract:

  • low-grade fever or fever
  • general weakness
  • hypertension
  • digestive system complaints: abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting
  • so-called dysuria symptoms: pain during urination, pollakiuria, frequent urge to urinate with burning, haematuria

A characteristic symptom of kidney inflammation is a positive Goldflam symptom. When the doctor hits the lumbar region of the back, the patient experiences severe pain. If the inflammation is the result of an untreated cystitis, the patient may also experience discomfort with pressure on the suprapubic area.

The chronic form is scant or asymptomatic, up to the advanced stage of chronic renal failure.

Important

Chronic disease can lead to kidney failure!

Chronic pyelonephritis can lead to chronic kidney failure. renal replacement therapy (most often dialysis). You may find that you also need a kidney transplant, which is a life-saving procedure. That's why it's so important to treat urinary tract infections as soon as possible to prevent inflammation from spreading to the kidneys.

Pyelonephritis diagnosis

The urine is tested first. Proteinuria and more or less severe haematuria are common. There is a moderate increase in the number of white blood cells and bacteria in the urine. In blood tests, inflammation is indicated by elevated CRP and ESR. There is also leukocytosis and an increase in urea level, which indicates renal dysfunction. A simultaneous increase in creatinine levels may also indicate kidney damage.

In a patient with suspected pyelonephritis, it is also performedultrasound examination of the kidneys (in the course of the disease, they are constricted, their surface is irregular due to many scarring of the interstitial tissue).

In rare cases, the doctor decides to perform a kidney biopsy.

Pyelonephritis treatment

The usual course of antibiotic therapy is 2 weeks. First, the patient is given the antibiotics most commonly used in urinary tract infections. The appropriate ones are selected based on the results of the urine test (the antibiotic should be selected according to the type of bacteria present in the urine, its sensitivity to the drug). In addition, antipyretic and analgesic drugs are prescribed. During illness, you should limit your physical activity and take min. 2 liters of fluid daily.

If the disease is caused by disorders in the outflow of the urine (e.g. in the course of nephrolithiasis), it may be necessary to undergo surgery to insert a catheter into the bladder (so-called bladder catheterization) or into the ureter through the urethra (the so-called probing the ureters), and even a kidney puncture (when there is urine stagnation in the kidney).

This will be useful to you

How to prevent pyelonephritis?

1. You should take care of intimate hygiene, especially during menstruation.

2. Avoid using intimate deodorants, perfumed soaps and bath lotions; It is best to use specialized gels for intimate hygiene;

3. approx. 15 minutes before intercourse, drink a glass of water. During it, bacteria that are in the urethra can be pushed into the bladder. Drinking water before intercourse and emptying the bladder immediately afterwards allows the expulsion of pathogenic bacteria.

4. It is better to give up contraceptive methods that are based on chemical agents, because they disturb the vaginal flora, and thus - increase the risk of infection.

Category:

Urology and Nephrology