What causes kidney failure?

What is kidney failure?

Healthy kidneys clean your blood by removing excess fluid, minerals, and wastes. They also produce hormones that keep your bones strong and blood healthy. But if the kidneys are damaged, they could not work properly. Harmful wastes can build up in your body so your blood pressure may rise. Your body may retain excess fluid and could not produce enough red blood cells. This is called kidney failure.

Types of kidney failure

Chronic kidney failure

Chronic kidney failure (chronic kidney disease), describes the gradual loss of kidney function. When chronic kidney failure reaches an advanced stage, dangerous levels of fluid, electrolytes and wastes would accumulate in your body.

Acute kidney failure

Acute kidney failure (also called acute renal failure or acute kidney injury) develops rapidly over a few days or even a few hours. Acute kidney failure is very common in people who are already hospitalized, particularly in critically ill people who need more care. Acute kidney failure can be fatal. However, acute kidney failure may be reversible. If you're otherwise in good health, you may recover normal kidney function.

What causes kidney failure?

There are a variety of causes of kidney failure and they can be classified into the following aspects.
Glomerular lesions

Glomerular disease is one common cause of renal failure. It includes primary and secondary glomerular nephritis such as IgA nephropathy, diabetic nephropathy, hypertensive renal arteriolosclerosis, lupus nephritis, purpura nephritis.

Tubular interstitial lesions

These diseases belong to renal tubular diseases including chronic pyelonephritis, chronic uric acid nephropathy, obstructive nephropathy (such as ureteral obstruction, countercurrent kidney disease and stones in the kidneys and urinary tract) and renal damaged due to intake of medicines and drugs that have renal toxicity such as painkiller, heavy metals, antibiotics, some anti-inflammatory agents, antitumor drugs and some Chinese medicines.

Renal vascular diseases

Renal damages can be roughly classified into renal parenchymal impairment and renal vascular impairment according to the location of renal damages. Common renal vascular lesions include hypertensive nephropathy, renovascular hypertension, small artery sclerosis, etc.

Hereditary renal disease

Kidney failure can also be caused by hereditary disease such as Alport syndrome and hereditary nephritis. 80% of AS patients are inherited and most of them may develop into kidney failure.

Complications of kidney failure

Blood system may be damaged due to kidney failure, which resorts in reducing erythropoietin, which can causes anemia. But usually, it is not serious. A few cases may appear reduction of blood clotting factors, which can have bleeding tendency. The complications can be more serious such as acute pulmonary edema, severe cardiovascular lesions, hyperkalemia, insufficient blood volume or infection, gastrointestinal bleeding, respiratory failure, multiple organ dysfunctions.

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