Dangerous complications of kidney disease

People with kidney disease may experience health complications such as anemia, lipid disorders, cardiovascular problems, lung problems, and water-electrolyte disorders.

Chronic kidney disease has many different causes, but the common feature is that it affects kidney function and the patient's quality of life.

People with kidney disease may experience health complications such as anemia, lipid disorders, cardiovascular problems, lung problems, and water-electrolyte disorders.

Chronic kidney disease is divided into 5 stages based on the glomerular filtration rate. Stage 5 is the most severe level, the patient must undergo kidney replacement therapy such as kidney transplant, hemodialysis, peritoneal dialysis.

The more severe the kidney failure, the more complications and the severity of complications varies with the glomerular filtration rate. Below are some complications that occur in people with chronic kidney failure.

Anemia: This complication appears early in chronic kidney failure, and its severity increases as kidney function declines. The cause of anemia is the kidney's reduced ability to synthesize erythropoietin - a hormone involved in the production of blood cells.

Lipid disorders: This is a common complication in patients with chronic kidney disease, increasing the risk of cardiovascular complications.

Cardiovascular complications: High blood pressure accelerates the process of chronic kidney failure and vice versa, people with chronic kidney disease have difficulty controlling their blood pressure. Increased blood urea leads to pericarditis and pericardial effusion. Other complications include left ventricular hypertrophy and left heart failure, coronary artery disease, valvular heart disease, and arrhythmias due to electrolyte disturbances.

Pulmonary complications: Pulmonary edema, pneumonia and pleural effusion often occur in patients with end-stage renal failure who have not received dialysis or inadequate dialysis or in patients on dialysis who have not reached the standard dry weight (post-dialysis weight).

Water and electrolyte disorders: Patients with chronic kidney failure often experience water and electrolyte disorders such as hyponatremia, hypernatremia, hyperkalemia...

Hyperkalemia is the most common and dangerous complication, if not treated promptly will lead to death. Acid-base imbalance often occurs in metabolic acidosis.

Neurological complications: Uremic encephalopathy occurs in patients with late-stage renal failure. Central nervous system disorders in patients on hemodialysis due to the imbalance syndrome seen in the first hemodialysis session. Polyneuropathy occurs in a small number of patients on hemodialysis.

Digestive complications: When chronic kidney disease reaches the end stage, loss of appetite is a common symptom, especially for foods high in protein.

Dr. Do Thi Hang, Head of the Nephrology - Dialysis Unit, Tam Anh General Clinic, District 7, said that the symptoms of chronic kidney disease are very vague, patients do not feel unusual, and are mostly discovered during health check-ups or other medical examinations.

When symptoms are obvious, the disease has progressed to the final stage. Therefore, people who show signs of fatigue, frequent nausea, weight loss, anorexia, foamy urine, less urine than usual, heavy eyes in the morning, swollen legs, itchy skin... should go see a doctor.

Patients with kidney failure need to follow their doctor's instructions regarding medication, dosage, and treatment schedule. Regular check-ups are needed to monitor kidney health to detect early signs of kidney damage and adjust therapy promptly.

Patients need to pay attention to a healthy diet; avoid foods high in salt, sugar, and fat; add vegetables and fruits. Patients need to be specifically advised by a doctor for each case and each stage because there are stages when eating certain types of vegetables and fruits must be limited.

Need to eat to ensure enough energy and necessary nutrients; eat less protein with the amount of protein eaten daily depending on the stage of the disease.

Prioritize foods rich in biological protein such as chicken, fish, eggs, vegetable protein... and reduce protein from food according to each stage of kidney disease. Limit foods rich in sodium, potassium, phosphorus, use foods rich in calcium.

Drink enough water, avoid excess fluid in the body. Choose an exercise regimen suitable for your health, do not exercise too hard. Do not abuse tobacco or stimulants. Use medication as prescribed by your doctor, control blood sugar, stabilize blood pressure, control weight if overweight or obese...

In Vietnam, it is estimated that one in 10 people have chronic kidney disease and the rate of chronic kidney disease tends to increase over time.

In addition, the demand for dialysis treatment is increasing while the number of dialysis units and dialysis service providers only meets 30% of the needs of patients needing dialysis nationwide.

According to statistics, in 2019, the cost of chronic kidney disease management was higher than GDP per capita, and the cost of dialysis was 4 times higher than the cost of treating chronic kidney disease in the early stages.

Because of the above burdens and consequences, screening, early detection and timely treatment for patients with chronic kidney disease will help slow down the process of kidney function decline, prevent the progression of the disease to renal replacement therapy and bring significant benefits to the health sector.

People with a history of or currently suffering from at least one of the following diseases: Diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease (heart failure, ischemic heart disease, etc.), overweight, obesity, acute renal failure, acute kidney injury, kidney stones, urinary stones, systemic diseases.

Regular check-ups are needed for the high-risk individuals mentioned above to screen, detect and treat chronic kidney disease early. Chronic kidney disease can be diagnosed early through blood and urine tests.

Chronic kidney disease screening is key to protecting your kidney health and ensuring you don't miss out on the most effective treatment when the disease is still in its early stages.

Source: https://baodautu.vn/cac-bien-chung-nguy-hiem-do-benh-than-d227197.html